Following the successful completion of the MyCopy pilot project, the specialist publishing group Springer Science+Business Media has, with immediate effect, extended this eBook service to all academic libraries in the USA and Canada that have purchased Springer eBook Collections. All registered library patrons will be able to order a softcover copy of a Springer eBook for their personal use by clicking on a button on the Springer platform www.springerlink.com.

The MyCopy offer is currently valid for more than 11,000 electronic Springer books published since 2005. The new softcover format is branded as a MyCopy book with a color cover and black and white book content. MyCopy books can only be ordered by registered patrons of those academic libraries that have purchased the corresponding eBook Collection. The entire ordering and shipping process will be handled by Springer in cooperation with a print-on-demand (POD) provider. All books will be sold at the same price, US$ 24.95. This price includes shipping and handling within the USA and Canada.

Thirty selected libraries and other research institutions in the USA and Canada took part in the pilot project launched in November 2008. “This project represents a very innovative way in which to look at both publisher and library services for electronic content in the future, and MyCopy is a great value-add to our site license for these eBooks,” said Wendy Allen Shelburne, Electronic Resources Librarian at the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“We tested and evaluated market acceptance. The test phase was a complete success, as the libraries and their patrons confirmed,” said Dr. Olaf Ernst, President of eProduct Management & Innovation at Springer. “The order processing, rapid delivery and attractive price of the books convinced library users that this is a good deal. The logical decision for Springer was to offer MyCopy as an extended service for our library customers and their users. It makes the steadily growing eBook range even more attractive to the science and research market.”

Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific publisher, delivering quality content through innovative information products and services. The company is also a trusted provider of local-language professional publications in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. In the science, technology and medicine (STM) sector, the group publishes around 2,000 journals and more than 6,500 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in about 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and more than 5,000 employees.  In 2008, it generated annual sales of around EUR 880 million.