Follett Software Company Enters Agreement with netLibrary to Help K-12 School Libraries Offer Patrons Access to eBooks.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MCHENRY, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000

Today Follett Software Company, the leading provider of K-12 library automation, announced an agreement with netLibrary, the world's premier provider of eBooks over the Internet.

This agreement, added to an earlier netLibrary/Follett Library Resources agreement, will allow K-12 libraries to purchase eBooks for their collections from Follett Library Resources and also to integrate eBooks into their daily operations via Follett Software library automation systems.

"Combining the strengths of Follett Software and Follett Library Resources with the eBook technology of netLibrary helps our customers maintain their role as students' first source for information," said Tom Schenck, Follett Software Company president.

"It is a tremendous advantage to the K-12 marketplace to have the number one library automation company and the number one library book distributor partnering to access and deliver information content to schools," noted Chris Traut, president of the Follett Corporation K-12 Group. "As a pioneer in the K-12 market, Follett knows school libraries and their information needs better than anyone. We hope to foster the integration and adoption of both electronic and print materials into the day-to-day curriculum of schools."

eBooks include published materials, such as reference books, scholarly monographs and consumer books that have been converted into digital format for electronic distribution. The Follett companies will help netLibrary identify and obtain additions to its collection of eBooks appropriate to the K-12 school market and facilitate the purchase of eBooks by K-12 libraries. Access to these materials will be available via the Follett Software library automation system 24 hours a day directly from their online public access catalog. Follett Software Company will provide a direct link from the Follett software system to the Follett Library Resources/netLibrary web site. This site, with a customized interface, will contain a large, rapidly growing collection of eBooks for the K-12 library market. Follett Software Company is the only vendor in the K-12 marketplace to offer K-12 libraries the ability to integrate eBooks into their automation systems.

Rob Kaufman, president and CEO of netLibrary commented, "Our agreements with Follett Library Resources and Follett Software Company represent a significant introduction of eBooks to the K-12 school library marketplace. I look forward to working with the Follett companies to enable students to experience eBooks at school and at home."

"We are pleased to be able to provide the K-12 interface to the netLibrary site and to offer an eBook collection appropriate to the K-12 marketplace," said Ross Follett, president of Follett Library Resources and of the Follett Corporation Library Group. "We believe this will enable libraries to maintain their key position in schools as the source for information and knowledge, whether in print or electronic format. Follett Software Company is adding a critical element: making eBooks a regular part of automation systems."

Full eBook Integration & Circulation Management

To provide access to the eBooks, Follett Software will modify its Circulation Plus(R), Catalog Plus(R) and WebCollection Plus(R) library management systems this coming fall to incorporate access to and tracking of the netLibrary eBook materials. As a result:

      --  Patrons will be able to search for Follett Library
        Resources/netLibrary eBooks or a combined listing of eBooks
        and traditional library resources from their online library
        catalog

      --  Patrons will be able to check out eBooks via the library
        automation system

      --  Library staff will be able to generate statistical reports to
        aid in the analysis of eBook usage

The ability for librarians to routinely track eBooks opens the possibilities to cater to the needs of an increasingly technology-literate student population. Now school libraries can offer their students the choice of how they want to read, whether for research or pleasure.

About netLibrary

netLibrary (www.netLibrary.com) is a leading provider of eBooks and Internet-based content/collection management services. netLibrary has established relationships with more than 200 publishers of trade, academic, reference, and scholarly books, and has created digital versions of more than 18,000 titles. netLibrary hosts and manages eBook collections for numerous public, academic, corporate, and special libraries around the world. The company also sells eBooks directly to consumers at the netLibrary web site. With netLibrary, consumers can choose between PC-based eBooks for reading online or offline, and eBooks for portable reading on a variety of handheld computers, such as those running the Palm and Windows CE operating systems.

About Follett Library Resources

Follett Library Resources is the leading national distributor of books, audiovisual materials and online services to libraries at schools, school districts and other educational institutions serving the K-12 market. Follett Library Resources is a Follett Corporation Library Group company, headquartered in McHenry, Ill.

About Follett Software Company

Since 1985, Follett Software Company has provided school, public and special libraries with leading-edge library automation, Internet and curriculum resource software and services. Its Circulation Plus software, with more than 30,000 installations worldwide, is the number one selling library automation system in the K-12 marketplace. The company also has the largest base of installed Windows customers, with 15,000 users. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, and is headquartered in McHenry, Ill. In 1999, the company was ranked among the top ten largest software companies in Chicago. For additional information, call 800/323-3397 or go to www.fsc.follett.com.