CourseSmart® Expands Its Digital Offerings Through Nine Additional Publishers

SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CourseSmart®, the world's largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, today announced that it has expanded its higher education digital offerings by partnering with nine new publishing partners: Oxford University Press (USA); Oxford University Press, Canada; W.W. Norton; American Technical Publishers (ATP); BarCharts; ASM Press; Paradigm Publishing; Vista Higher Learning; and University Readers. With these latest additions, CourseSmart's publishing partners now total 31, including the largest in the higher education space: Pearson; Cengage Learning; McGraw-Hill Education; John Wiley & Sons; and the Bedford, Freeman, Worth Publishing Group.

"Our new publishing relationships will enable us to continue expanding our footprint and further solidify our position as the world's largest provider of digital course materials. The additional titles and content to our higher education catalog will allow more students and faculty to enjoy the benefits of our digital course materials, including anytime, anywhere access, cost savings and efficiencies, device agnostic applications and other digital benefits inherent in our offerings," said Sean Devine, chief executive officer at CourseSmart. "We will continue to engage with other higher education-focused publishing houses to ensure we meet the growing demand for eTextbooks and other digital course materials."

CourseSmart offers more than 20,000 eTextbooks in its catalog which represents 90 percent of all core higher education textbooks in use today. These digital textbooks may be rented for up to 60 percent less than the cost of its new print counterparts. Features like note taking, highlighting and maintaining print page numbers replicate the important functionality of a print textbook while other features like search, copy/paste and emailing passages, leverage the digital format to efficiently improve teaching and learning.  

Each of CourseSmart's new publishers will supplement its digital library of eTextbooks in the following areas:

• Oxford University Press (USA) and Oxford University Press, Canada: As part of the largest University Press publisher in the world, OUP-USA publishes in the humanities, social sciences and the physical, natural, earth, atmospheric and life sciences. OUP-Canada publishes textbooks in the areas of humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering and computer science, and economics and business.

• W.W. Norton: A longstanding independent publishing company, W.W. Norton publishes in the areas of the humanities, social sciences and the sciences.

• American Technical Publishers (ATP): Since 1898, ATP has been the leader in providing quality training materials for career and technical education, industrial training and apprenticeships.

• BarCharts: Since 1991, BarCharts has offered their QuickStudy laminated study guides on a variety of subjects in the humanities, social sciences, foreign languages, math, science, business and computers. They act as a roadmap for college courses and are now available in digital format.

• ASM Press: As the publishing arm of The American Society for Microbiology, the oldest and largest single life science membership organization in the world, ASM Press offers textbooks in the microbiological sciences.

• Paradigm Publishing: A division of EMC Publishing, Paradigm Publishing specializes in post-secondary publishing, offering textbook programs in computer technology, health careers, biotechnology, accounting, business technology, distance learning and career management with supplementary and multimedia materials.

• Vista Higher Learning: The market leader in introductory Spanish, VHL is an independent publisher of language programs. VHL offers an array of programs that integrate textbook-and-technology for both the higher education and secondary education markets.

• University Readers: A national provider of digital and print custom publishing solutions for independent school, college, and university faculty. In partnership with dozens of leading academic publishers, offering an online library of content to make custom publishing easier for professors and more affordable for students.

For more information, please visit www.coursesmart.com.

About CourseSmart®

As the world's largest provider of digital course materials, CourseSmart® connects education publishers to consumers by providing an efficient distribution platform for their best-selling content in digital form. Founded in 2007, the San Mateo, Calif.-based company provides services to four business segments: Online direct retail for students; Indirect distribution of course materials to students through bookstores; Online faculty textbook evaluation services; and Institutional solutions for faculty and students that are integrated within campus technology ecosystems. CourseSmart improves the educational process and experience by offering all users anywhere, any-time access to the course content they need, including those with vision- and print-related disabilities. With more than 90% of the same core titles offered by major print publishers, the company's eTextbooks can be purchased for up to 60% less than the cost of new print textbooks. For more information about CourseSmart, visit the company's Web site at www.coursesmart.com.

© 2011 CourseSmart, LLC. All Rights Reserved. CourseSmart® is a registered trademark of CourseSmart, LLC. All other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Gabrielle Zucker
Kwittken & Company
(646) 747-7143
[email protected]

SOURCE CourseSmart