Birmingham, UK. 1st August 2003.

OCLC PICA is pleased to announce that OCLC PICA and the netLibrary eBook service has been chosen by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency to participate in a new national framework agreement for the supply of subscriptions to and purchase of electronic books to NHS England locations and for use by staff working for and on behalf of the NHS throughout England.

It is the intention of the framework agreement to enable librarians to purchase additional resources that will complement the national core collection and enable a seamless resource for end users. The NHS has recently contracted nationally through the National Core Content Group for the provision of electronic information including abstracting and indexing databases and full text journal collections.

The framework agreement covers an initial period of three years from July 2003 through to June 2006, with an optional extension period of one additional year.

Procurement for subscriptions will be managed through NHS librarians and NHS trust purchasing personnel and through collaborative arrangements within Workforce Development Confederations, NHS Library Consortia and Supply Management Confederations.

Founded in August 1998, netLibrary http://www.netlibrary.com is the world's premier provider of electronic books (eBooks) to over 7,000 academic, medical, special, corporate and public libraries. netLibrary offers an easy-to-use information and retrieval system for accessing the full text of reference, scholarly, and professional books. The current netLibrary eBook offering includes an integrated catalogue of more than 50,000 titles, a collection management platform, and a suite of content support services.

Quote from Janet Lees: "eBooks are particularly appropriate to the distance learning needs of NHS staff across the country who combine work and study" said Janet Lees, Director Sales OCLC PICA, " We are very pleased to be chosen to work with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency to build this national online learning resource."

Quote from NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency:

Laura Gillan Buyer, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency says "We give procurement support to NHS libraries by providing access to new and innovative information solutions. The electronic books available through netLibrary will enable access to a broad range of additional resources."

For more information contact: Andrew Evans, OCLC PICA, tel: +44 - (0)121 456 4656

About OCLC PICA
Headquartered in Leiden the Netherlands, OCLC PICA is a European Library Co-operative with regional offices in Birmingham and Paris. OCLC PICA offers an extensive range of leading edge products and services for both library professionals and library end users.

About the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health, acting as a centre of expertise, knowledge and excellence in purchasing and supply matters for the health service in England. The agency works with around 400 NHS trusts and health authorities and manages 3,000 national purchasing contracts, influencing around half of the £7 billion spent in the NHS on purchasing goods and services in the health service.