This month Barnes & Noble began to work with publishers to build a digital library to support a print-on-demand service in its retail stores and on its web site. Books will be scanned into a print-on-demand system or provided in PDF format.
IBM will provide the printing and workflow technologies, servers, and software for electronic book management and distribution. It will also provide on-site management at a content-distribution center in New Jersey beginning in mid-2000.
Barnes & Noble expects that print-on-demand will increase the company's selection by 500,000 titles within five years.
No budget for the project was announced, nor has any pricing for the products been released.
