Bartleby.com relaunch
- From: "Steven H. van Leeuwen" <steve@[redacted]>
- Subject: Bartleby.com relaunch
- Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 16:47:15 -0500
BARTLEBY.COM UNVEILS WEB'S PREMIER REFERENCE LIBRARY
INTERNET PUBLISHER COMBINES MOST COMPREHENSIVE MODERN
REFERENCE COLLECTION WITH BEST CLASSIC REFERENCE WORKS
New York--March 20--Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com),
the first name in Internet publishing of reference, verse
and classic literature, today unveiled the Internet's
premier reference web site, offering free, searchable access
to the world's most complete family of online reference
works. The site provides web-based access to such world-
class works as the "Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition,"
published by Columbia University Press and "The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language," Third Edition;
"Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition;" "Simpson's
Contemporary Quotations;" and "The American Heritage Book of
English Usage," published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
When combined with the web site's existing reference works,
including Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations," Strunk's
"Elements of Style," Fowler's "The King's English," Second
Edition, Emily Post's "Etiquette," the "Cambridge History of
English and American Literature" and Fannie Farmer's
"Cookbook," today's announcement establishes Bartleby.com as
the most comprehensive public web reference site.
Bartleby.com published 200,000 full-text searchable pages of
reference, verse and classic literature--all accessible 24
hours per day, at no charge.
Bartleby.com also unveiled a complete web site redesign.
With a new user interface, Bartleby.com provides fast and
accurate access to a vast array of information, including
material not available anywhere else--in print or on the
web. Visitors to Bartleby.com can access informative
summaries of each book, as well as concise biographies,
complete with pictures, of each author featured in the
online library. Enhanced navigational tools and extensive
cross-referencing between works make it easy for users to
locate specific passages and references. Also new is the
"Bartleby Weekly" feature, providing a weekly update of new
content additions, and the Bartleby Bookstore, linking e-
commerce to the site by providing a convenient market for
users to purchase books and related materials.
"Bartleby.com makes publishing history today," said Steven
van Leeuwen, publisher and founder of Bartleby.com. "As the
only publisher combining the best of both contemporary and
classic reference works, we have created the most
comprehensive public reference library ever published on the
web--a collection that will grow massively in the coming
months."
"Bartleby.com has designed an impressive web site that
allows users to easily access, search and categorize an
extensive collection of classic literature, reference and
nonfiction material. Every knowledge-seeking person should
visit this site," said John McCormick of SECTORBASE.com, a
market research firm that caters primarily to institutional
investors.
NEW BARTLEBY.COM REFERENCE WORKS
Columbia Encyclopedia
With its previous edition described by "Scientific American"
as "without peer in the English language," and heralded by
the "New York Times Book Review" as "the standard of
excellence as a guide to essential facts," the "Columbia
Encyclopedia" has always been the bar by which other
reference works are judged. Now, with Bartleby.com's
publication of the new Sixth Edition, it is also the most
up-to-date encyclopedia available anywhere. With over 50,000
article entries, 40,000 bibliographic citations, and over
80,000 cross-reference entries, it is also one of the most
comprehensive encyclopedias available. All of these articles
are fully searchable, allowing students and readers of all
kinds to locate specific information in seconds.
"Bartleby.com is an outstanding partner for bringing the
Columbia Encyclopedia to the Internet," said Clare Wellnitz,
Director of Subsidiary Rights for Columbia University Press.
"With 24-hour, free online access to the complete,
unabridged encyclopedia, Bartleby.com delivers an invaluable
service for any student, researcher or family looking for
fast and easy access to essential and interesting facts."
OTHER NEW REFERENCE WORKS
Bartleby.com also released "The American Heritage Dictionary
of the English Language," Third Edition, filled with over
350,000 entries and meanings--more than 16,000 of them new.
Word definitions are further enhanced by over 34,000
examples of use, more than 500 usage notes and a newly
revised Appendix of Indo-European roots. Called by
Amazon.com "the chosen reference of editors," The American
Heritage Dictionary "is more than a mere tool of the trade--
it's a luxurious linguistic experience." The Usage Panel, a
group of over 170 editors, writers and public speakers,
contributed its opinions on usage to "The American Heritage
Dictionary."
Complementing the "Columbia Encyclopedia" and "American
Heritage Dictionary" are "Roget's II: The New Thesaurus,"
providing over 35,000 synonyms; "Simpson's Quotations,"
highlighting the great quotations from 1950 to 1988 and
providing about 10,000 quotations from nearly 4,000 sources;
and "The American Heritage Book of English Usage," the
preeminent guide to the proper use of grammar, style,
diction and word formation, and even e-mail etiquette.
David Jost, Vice President and Director of Electronic
Reference Publishing of the Trade and Reference Division of
Houghton Mifflin Company, says "Houghton Mifflin is proud to
partner with Bartleby.com to bring these essential reference
works online as part of Bartleby.com's comprehensive
reference collection."
Practical Details
The site is live today, at www.bartleby.com. All reference
materials are available 24-hours/day at no charge.
About Bartleby.com
Headquartered in New York City, Bartleby.com began
publishing on the web in 1994. Now a leading innovator in
the field of electronic publishing, Bartleby.com has been
widely cited as one of the best reference sites on the web,
having published among other works, Bartlett's "Familiar
Quotations," Strunk's "Elements of Style" and six classic
poetry anthologies, including the "Oxford Book of English
Verse." Post's "Etiquette," which the company added to its
site in December 1999, enables readers to jump from over
1,500 alphabetic subject entries to the most relevant of the
2,600 paragraphs in the book. Most recently, Bartleby.com
published the "Cambridge History of English and American
Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes," considered
a landmark of English and American letters.
Named after the humble character of Melville's classic
"Bartleby, the Scrivener," Bartleby.com provides millions of
students, educators and the intellectually curious with
unparalleled access to classics and reference books online.
Bartleby.com began as a personal research experiment in 1993
and within one year published its first classic book on the
web, Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." Since then, Bartleby.com's
ever-expanding list of renowned classics makes it the
preeminent electronic publishing enterprise on the web.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Megan Schade, Bartleby.com
megan@[redacted]
646-435-6176