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New Macmillan Subsidiary, DynamicBooks, Redefines Interactive Textbooks for Higher Education

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NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - DynamicBooks, a new subsidiary of Macmillan, unveiled today a new digital publishing platform that allows instructors to freely customize and modify some of today's most respected textbooks. Using the DynamicBooks' editing tools, instructors can tailor world-class content to suit their classroom needs by editing existing content or adding new text or media assets. Once instructors "publish" their custom book, their students can choose to purchase either a fully featured digital text or a printed version of the new book.

DynamicBooks was created in close partnership with Ingram Content Group Inc. and utilizes Ingram's successful VitalSource Bookshelf platform and Lightning Source print-on-demand capability.

DynamicBooks seeks to lower costs to students and is working with its publisher partners to do so. As an example, Bedford, Freeman and Worth books will be available in digital form for 40-50 percent of the price of traditional books.

"DynamicBooks strives to put control of world-class textbook content into the hands of instructors. Our easy-to-use custom publishing platform allows instructors to create tailored versions of many of today's most popular textbooks, and then instantly publish them for their students in both digital and print versions," said Clancy Marshall, General Manager of DynamicBooks. (Marshall will demonstrate DynamicBooks at the O'Reilly Tools of Change conference in New York on Wed, Feb 24 at 8:30 a.m. in the Broadway North room.)

"Most college students don't read textbooks anymore," said Charles Grisham, professor of chemistry at the University of Virginia. "Students jump from point to point as they do on the Internet. It's also safe to say that no textbook has completely matched every instructor's syllabus. DynamicBooks offers instructors and authors a better way to convey content that is more relevant and creative-minded, and that mirrors the always interactive environment in which students live."

Brian Napack, President of Macmillan, said: "DynamicBooks is a win for everyone. Instructors and students get more engaging, more relevant textbooks; our authors get a more engaged community of instructors; and publishers get to deliver more powerful content, made so through collaboration with their customers." He continued, "The rapid launch of DynamicBooks represents an extension of our deep partnership with Ingram, who were uniquely positioned to deliver both state-of-the-art e-book and print-on-demand platforms."

David "Skip" Prichard, President and CEO of Ingram Content Group Inc. said: "Ingram Content Group has invested in innovative technology tools to enable the creation of customized textbooks. We are excited that Macmillan has chosen VitalSource to offer this capability to educators."

The digital textbook package includes online access; a downloadable version; and an iPhone application. Students can annotate or highlight and search terms or their notes in their DynamicBook and can print from within the application. Printed, bound versions are also available in black and white or full color. Students can order these books from retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Follett.

Using podcasts, video clips, animation, equation editors, graphing tools, and their own content, instructors can customize a textbook to better match their teaching style and class focus. Instructor edited content will be highlighted as changed from the original text and attributed to the instructor who made the change. All original content and original multimedia additions will be copyrighted by the instructor.

Authors can develop more of a community relationship with instructors to share ideas and improve the content.

DynamicBooks' platform is powered by VitalSource, a leader in digital books technology and further enhanced by on demand printing and fulfillment through Ingram Content Group. Book industry partners include Macmillan's Bedford, Freeman and Worth Publishers and Hayden McNeil Publishers.

DynamicBooks currently offers 20 of today's most popular science and math books. More titles are being added each week in subjects such as psychology, economics and statistics. Bedford, Freeman and Worth has committed to adding many of its most popular textbooks to the platform in the months to come.

DynamicBooks will be available for purchase at the DynamicBooks website and college bookstores August 1st.

ABOUT INGRAM

Ingram Content Group Inc. provides a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry. Ingram's operating units are Ingram Book Company, Lightning Source Inc., Ingram Digital, VitalSource Technologies, Ingram Periodicals Inc., Ingram International Inc., Ingram Library Services Inc., Spring Arbor Distributors Inc., Ingram Publisher Services Inc., Tennessee Book Company LLC, Coutts Information Services, and Ingram Marketing Group Inc. For more information visit www.ingramcontent.com

ABOUT MACMILLAN

DynamicBooks is a subsidiary of Macmillan, one of the world's largest and best-known English-language publishers. www.dynamicbooks.com.

Macmillan is a global publisher of books, magazines, educational content, tools, and services, scientific information, and digital media. In the US, the group includes Farrar, Straus & Giroux; Henry Holt; St. Martin's Press; Tor Books; Picador; Macmillan Audio; Bedford St. Martin's; W.H. Freeman; Worth Publishers; Hayden-McNeil; i>clicker; and Scientific American. Macmillan is a subsidiary of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, GMbH, a global media company based in Stuttgart, Germany. www.macmillan.com

for DynamicBooks
Karen Lippe, 831-430-0526
karenlippe@gmail.com
or
Keel Hunt, 615-321-3110
keel@tsgnashville.com



 
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