San Francisco Public Library Chooses Baker & Taylor's Axis 360

CHARLOTTE, N.C. and SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor and San Francisco Public Library announced today that the library has added the company's Axis 360 digital media solution to its array of services, giving patrons greatly expanded access to borrow and download best-sellers and new-release fiction and nonfiction in electronic formats to smartphones, tablets, ereaders and computers.

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San Francisco Public Library joins with the hundreds of library systems of all sizes that have selected the innovative Axis 360 service to meet the wide range of patron needs in their communities. Developed by Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of digital and physical books and entertainment products, Axis 360 is fully integrated into the selection and acquisitions workflows of libraries and their library management systems. Axis 360 is also a fully accessible econtent platform that works with the Blio ereading application to open the world of ebooks to all library users, including those who are visually impaired.

The selection of Axis 360 equips the library to help meet rising demand from patrons for ease-of-use and access to popular ebooks and other digital media. San Francisco Public Library users check out an average of 1,250 ebook and digital audiobook titles every day.

"We are pleased that San Francisco Public Library can add to its robust collection of materials another source for popular ebook titles," said City Librarian Luis Herrera. "It's been clear for several years now that ebooks are increasingly in demand as a format for library users. The chance to provide expanded service options for our community is at the foundation of our efforts."

George Coe, President of Baker & Taylor's Library & Education division, said: "We are extremely pleased that San Francisco Public Library, an influential institution in the top tier of major city libraries, has selected Axis 360 to serve its growth. Baker & Taylor is taking bold and positive steps to offer more digital content options to libraries and their communities. By choosing Axis 360, libraries of all kinds are making sure they serve all their patrons in an easy and convenient way."

Axis 360 delivers digital content in EPUB, PDF and Blio formats to PC and Mac computers, laptops and netbooks, to smartphones and tablets running on Android and iOS, and to popular ereaders such as NOOK^®, Sony Reader^TM and Kobo^TM. With Axis 360, libraries have access to more than 450,000 titles, including digital audiobooks available through Baker & Taylor's new Acoustik^TM, direct-to-device download service. 

About Baker & Taylor
Baker & Taylor, Inc. is the world's largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products. The company offers cutting-edge digital media services and innovative technology platforms to thousands of publishers, libraries and retailers worldwide. Baker & Taylor also offers industry-leading customized library services and retail merchandising solutions. Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

About San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library is dedicated to the free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning and the joys of reading for our diverse community. Through its Main Library, 27 Branch Libraries, bookmobiles, and online services, SFPL provides an array of rich informational and recreational resources. In addition to providing access to the City's collection of 3.4 million items in a variety of formats (print, microform, digital, video, and audio) and in over 50 languages, the Public Library also offers public access computers and other technologies, as well as educational, literary, and entertaining programming for children, teens, and adults.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor, Inc.