MetaText: Customizable, Interactive, Multimedia WebBooks from NetLibrary

   In browsing the NetLibrary site [ http://www.netlibrary.com/ ] today, I
have discovered that it has established a most innovative new service /
product called MetaText [ http://www.metatext.com/ ]

<QUOTE>
MetaText titles are Web-based textbooks enhanced with interactive
and multimedia content and surrounded by tools for communication and
study. [ http://www.netlibrary.com/metatext.asp ] </QUOTE>

<QUOTE>
At its simplest, a MetaText is a textbook which is read through a
web browser. The web environment, however, allows a MetaText to do much
more than a paper text. For example, a MetaText can include web links for
more information, multimedia content, a glossary that pronounces words,
self-grading quizzes, notes from your instructors and classmates, chat
rooms, bulletin boards and just about anything else that can exist on the
Web.
 [ http://www.metatext.com/learnmore/faq.htm ]
</QUOTE>

<QUOTE>
[MetaText books may be customized] by adding, removing, and rearranginf
textbooks, primary sources, and articles [
http://www.netlibrary.com/metatext.asp ]
</QUOTE>

    The main site [ http://www.metatext.com/ ] provides further
descriiption of MetaText, offers access to demo as well as free sample
MetaText titles, and market research and field reports.

    I wish to emphasize that MetaText titles have ***multimedia***
components a new interest of mine
[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0008/0304.html ] and are
***customizable***, another recent interest
 [ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0007/0347.html] .

[BTW: NetLibrary has filed for an IPO with the SEC for an $82 million
initial stock offering [
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/09/biztech/articles/02netlibrary-ipo.html]
[A free account is required to access this article]

     This posting is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute an endorsement.

/Gerry McKiernan
Multimedia-Customized Librarian
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011

gerrymck@iastate.edu

                  "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It!"
                                                    Alan Kay