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Powell's Books Expanding eBook Offering
Alliance With Lightning Source Affords Greater Title Selection, Broader Services to eBook Leader
Powell's Books, the nation's largest independent bookstore and an established pioneer in the eBook marketplace, and Lightning Source(SM), a leading provider of a complete package of digital fulfillment services, have announced a partnership that will dramatically expand Powell's online selection of eBook titles and broaden the range of services for Powell's electronic book offerings.Under the agreement, Lightning Source will significantly increase Powells.com's existing inventory of electronic books by offering an extensive library of titles from a number of publishers, including Hotlzbrinck, Penguin Putnam, and Simon & Schuster. These titles will be available in Adobe(R) PDF Merchant(TM), Glassbook Reader, and Microsoft Reader formats. Powell's, which specializes in new, used, rare and out-of-print books, began offering eBook(TM) (formerly Rocket eBook(TM)) titles last year. The endeavor was so successful that the retailer decided to expand its electronic book capability to meet growing consumer demand.
"Our customers sent a clear message, through the success of our early eBook efforts, that they want to read more electronic books," said owner Michael Powell. "Lightning's proven track record in the industry for the quick, easy delivery of a broad selection of electronic titles made them the clear choice to help us expand this side of our business, respond to the demand of consumers, and maintain our industry leadership."
"Powell's history of success is proof positive that independent booksellers are ideally positioned to leverage their book expertise and customer focus into success in the eBook arena," said Lightning Source President and CEO Ed Marino. "We are pleased to offer our digital fulfillment services to a major industry player that recognizes the potential of the market for electronic books and the importance of top-quality customer service."
Powell's, an independent bookseller, has seven stores located in Portland and Beaverton, Oregon. Its flagship store, Powell's City of Books, occupies an entire city block, stocking an inventory of more than a million titles -- the world's largest used and new book selection under one roof. Powells.com combines the inventory of Powell's seven stores and two warehouses in one searchable database. The web site was recently rated "Best Book Site 2000" by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine.
Lightning Source digitizes titles for hundreds of domestic and international publishers. Lightning's digital library currently holds more than 20,000 titles and grows by an average of 400 titles each week. The company's cutting-edge digital technology allows for the conversion of titles into a variety of print and electronic formats.