Plymouth University Taps Vital Source Technologies, Inc. to Launch Largest e-Textbook Programme in the U.K.

LONDON, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Vital Source Technologies, Inc., Ingram Content Group's leading digital textbook solution, today announced that Plymouth University collaborated with Vital Source to provide textbooks for their institution-wide digital initiative, which is the largest e-textbook programme ever undertaken in the U.K. 

Plymouth University's e-textbook programme launched this month, and has already provided more than 30,000 e-textbooks to the University's students. Vital Source are providing e-textbooks from more than 16 publishers to students in programmes in science and technology, business, arts and humanities, medicine and health and human sciences.  Widespread access to required learning materials will allow the University to transform the educational process and to make full use of the suite of learning tools built into the VitalSource Bookshelf platform.

The textbooks are included in the students' fees and are accessible to all, including those with print related disabilities.  Students will access the textbooks directly through Plymouth University's Digital Learning Environment, and almost half of the materials will be available in reflowable XML and EPUB formats to provide rich, robust interactive content. The textbooks can be used online or they can be downloaded onto the students' preferred devices including smartphones, tablets and web enabled e-readers such as Kindle Fire. 

"This initiative is driven by a determination to ensure that no student is disadvantaged in terms of learning," said Dr. Phil Gee, the Plymouth eBooks Project Manager. "Providing personal electronic copies of core texts significantly cuts the cost of university, and gives all an equal opportunity to succeed.  We are immensely proud that Plymouth is pioneering this very practical way of supporting students, and it delivers on our strategy to enrich what we do through appropriate use of digital technology."

"Vital Source was founded on the principal of expanding access to higher education by offering students significant savings on their required course materials, and as the cost of earning a degree continues to rise, it is essential that students have digital options. We are proud to work with Plymouth University to facilitate the most significant digital implementation ever undertaken in the U.K., and we are confident that students and the University will benefit from the convenience and cost-savings of digital content," said William Chesser, Vice President of Business Development and Global Markets, Vital Source Technologies, Inc.

Vital Source integrates directly with a broad array of colleges and universities across the United Kingdom and Europe.  The company is the only platform that can integrate with VLEs on a mass scale, and has partnered with more than 25 institutions across the United Kingdom and internationally in the last year.

About Vital Source  
The VitalSource Bookshelf® platform is the most used e-textbook delivery platform in higher education. Vital Source Technologies has more than 500,000 titles available in distribution encompassing content from more than 750 educational publishers.  Content is available to VitalSource Bookshelf users, including those living with disabilities, anytime, anywhere, and on a variety of operating systems and devices. For more information about Vital Source Technologies, visit www.vitalsource.com. 

About Ingram  
Ingram Content Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Nashville-based Ingram Industries Inc. The company got its start in 1964 as a textbook depository and has since grown and transformed into a comprehensive publishing industry services company that offers numerous solutions, including physical book distribution, print-on-demand and digital services. Committed to the success of its partners, Ingram works closely with publishers, retailers, libraries and schools around the world to provide them with the right products and services to help them succeed in the dynamic and increasingly complex world of content publishing. Ingram's operating units are Ingram Book Company, Lightning Source Inc., Vital Source Technologies, Inc., 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 ICG Ventures Inc.  Learn more about Ingram Content Group at www.ingramcontent.com.

About Plymouth University

We are one of the leading modern universities in the UK, ranked in the top seven institutions under the age of 50 by Times Higher Education. Awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2012 for marine and maritime teaching and research, we have won numerous awards and accolades, and are the only university in the world to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark.  Our 30,000 students, which include those at our partner colleges across the South West, are enrolled on courses from farming to pharmacy, business to biology, and design to dentistry. And the 12,000 paid internships we provide every year for our students is just one of the many ways that we help them to develop new skills and graduate ready-for-work.  We have invested more than £150 million in our campus over the past seven years and are the first modern university to launch a medical school. And through our £100 million network of support facilities and services, we are growing hundreds of businesses across the region and beyond. To find out how Plymouth is making a difference to its communities, please visit www.plymouth.ac.uk

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