The MVB Marketing und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels GmbH, a Sister Company of the Bórsenvereins des Deutschen Buchandels, announced its choice of development partner yesterday as it launched the project, calling it "Full-text searching online".

MPS Technologies and HGV launched their ‘digital warehouse’ concept, BookStore, at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year. Since then a prototype has been developed and demonstrated to a number of interested publishers in the UK, Germany and the USA. A beta site will be available in late June. A bespoke version of the BookStore platform will be developed for the Bórsenverein which will be offered to publishers across Germany. The prototype of the Bórsenverein platform will be demonstrated at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2006. 

With the launch of the project, the Bórsenverein aims to enable all German publishers access to a standard digital content delivery platform, preparing the way for a not so distant future in which all content will be available and saleable in electronic form.

Dr Gottfried Honnefelder, the Head of the Bórsenvereins des Deutschen Buchandels says, "This project of the German Book Industry is trend-setting and allows us to grow internationally.  Crucially, speed is the main theme.  Now the entire industry is invited to take part in the project".

Members of the supervisory board of the BBG are Dr. Joachim Treeck (chairman), Hubertus Brockhaus (Heinrich Albert Verlag), Dr. Dieter Duesedau (McKinsey & company), Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder (chief of the Trade Association), Stefan Koenemann (Barsortiment Koenemann), Martin Ludwig (Elsevier) and Siegmar Mosdorf (CNC Corporation).

About MPS Technologies, hgv and Bookstore

MPS Technologies provides a range of technology-driven services specifically designed to support libraries and publishers. These services include web analytics, fulfillment services and content delivery. MPS Technologies is part of the Macmillan group of companies and has offices in London, Boston, New York, Basingstoke, Hamburg and Delhi.

The Hanseatische Gesellschaft für Verlagsservice (HGV) supports book publishers with IT, customer-related, financial and production services. Exclusive cooperation agreements with world-class suppliers enable the company to broaden its product scope to include full-service provision. Together with its customers it develops flexible, modular solutions ranging from consultancy, through IT support, to complete fulfillment.

Bookstore is a digital content delivery platform – or electronic warehouse – that stores and displays e-book content for publishers. It provides a secure, scalable and – most importantly - searchable digital repository that delivers publishers with all the benefits of discoverability and saleability of their digital content.

For more information contact Macmillan Communications Director Sara Lloyd s.lloyd@macmillan.co.uk

Information about the project "full text search on-line" can be obtained by contacting Kurt Hammes, Head of Electronic Publishing of MVB, telephone 069/1306-540, E-Mail: k.hammes@mvb-online.de.

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MPS Technologies

Rupert Bacon
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r.bacon@mpstechnologies.com
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