FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ibooks, ipicturebooks and childrenselibrary Sign with Content Directions to Implement DOIs

New York, NY – March 17, 2004 – ibooks, ipicturebooks and childrenselibrary, a publishing operation run by Byron Preiss, has partnered with Content Directions Inc. (CDI), the first commercial DOI Registration Agency, to register Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all of its books.

To view some live examples in a variety of print and electronic formats, click on the following DOIs:

ibooks:

Isaac Asimov, Robot City 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/1591764769

Robert Penn Warren, Remember the Alamo http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/1590192567

Diane Redmond, Joshua Cross http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/0743479084

Elaine Moore, Dark Desire http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/0743479068

ipicturebooks:

Ruth Ashby, Shrek: Tell Your Own Tale http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/159019117X

Jaffe & Cruz, Sing, Little Sack! ¡Canta, Saquito! http://dx.doi.org/10.1341/1588240924

“ibooks’ mission is to harness the latest technology to bring innovative books to market at the speed of thought, and ipicturebooks is the #1 brand for children’s eBooks on the Internet,” said Byron Preiss, CEO. “The DOI enhances both these missions by making it much easier for our customers to find and buy our books, because any DOI hyperlink anywhere on the Web brings together into a single menu all the information and links the customer needs: what formats are available (especially hard-to-find electronic formats), what other books are available from the same author or in the same series, where you can go to buy the book, etc. We also look forward to the ‘viral distribution’ benefits of CDI’s new “MultiLink Syndicator” service, whereby anyone who finds one of our DOIs can easily add it as a link on their own website; this will pollinate our DOIs onto the sites of our authors, book reviewers, portals and online business partners.”

Said David Sidman, CEO of Content Directions: "We are very excited to be working with such a long-time publishing innovator as Byron Preiss, and we look forward to helping his companies use the DOI to extend their marketing reach and improve their customer experience in all kinds of new ways.”

About ibooks, ipicturebooks and childrenselibrary

ibooks™ harnesses the latest digital technology to get its books published at the speed of the 21st century. Shorter lead times and Internet promotion are designed to assist independent and national booksellers sell our titles at the speed of thought. In every category, ibooks™ is teaming up with major brands to balance its list between the best of the old and the best of the new. ipicturebooks is the #1 brand for children's eBooks on the Internet. It is designed to appeal to parents, children, teachers and librarians seeking in-print, out-of print and original enhanced e-books for use on home computers, school and library networked computers, proprietary and open hand-helds and dedicated eBook readers. childrenselibrary.com is the number one source for children's eBooks from major publishers for schools and libraries. It is powered by ipicturebooks.com, an affiliate of the AOL Time Warner Book Group.

About the Digital Object Identifier (DOI^®)

The DOI is an Internet-based system for identifying and exchanging intellectual property of all kinds (books, music, images, database records, product descriptions) and at any level of “granularity” (individual chapters, songs, articles, product components).  It is the online equivalent of the UPC (bar code), and on the Internet it functions as a kind of “super-URL,” linking users directly to where they can buy the item, learn more about it, find related items, access related services, contact the publisher, etc. It also facilitates online transactions of all kinds, including e-commerce, rights management, and digital distribution.

Wherever the DOI is encountered – on Web sites, on Search Engines, within product reviews, within emails, and even within downloaded content – it always brings the user back to whatever information or services the publisher wishes to offer. Further, these links are always up-to-date because they are served from a central DOI record maintained in a global directory (somewhat akin to the DNS system that routes domain names). These links are displayed via Content Directions’ MultiLinkä menu, which is specified by the publisher and created/maintained by CDI. (For live examples, see http://doi.contentdirections.com or visit http://www.contentdirections.com and click “Live Customer Examples” or view the demos under “See the DOI in Action.”)

About Content Directions, Inc. (CDI)

CDI helps companies increase their sales and profitability by improving the discoverability and utilization of their intellectual property and services, both on the Internet and within their enterprises. Its major tool is the DOI, a linking mechanism developed by the primary inventor of the Internet (Dr. Robert Kahn) and representing "The Next-Generation URL" in terms of superior reliability and functionality. (See above for more information about the DOI.)

In addition to actually registering DOIs (as the first commercial DOI Registration Agency), CDI provides consulting on how the DOI can increase an organization's revenues and cut costs. Additional information on the DOI and on CDI’s products and services can be found at http://www.contentdirections.com. Live DOIs from other CDI customers can be found at http://doi.contentdirections.com. Evidence of the DOI’s impact on profitability, conservatively measured as a 12-to-1 return-on-investment by the consulting firm EPS, is presented in the white paper http://dx.doi.org/10.1220/eps1.

For more information, you can:

· click on the DOI for this press release: http://dx.doi.org/10.1220/pr27

· or contact:

Byron Preiss, President

ibooks, ipicturebooks, childrenselibrary

phone: 212-645-9870 x222

fax: 212-645-9874

email: bpreiss@bpvp.com

or

Tina Aridas

Deputy Manager, Marketing & Press Relations

CONTENT DIRECTIONS, INC.

phone: 718-965-8490 or 917-514-5364

fax: 718-768-7542

email: taridas@contentdirections.com

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