Bertelsmann subsidiary Relias Learning has acquired Florida-based e-learning company RediLearning. Terms of the deal, the first under the Bertelsmann Education Group umbrella, were not disclosed — though a Reuters source puts it at a “medium double-digit million US dollar sum.” The nine-year-old RediLearning provides online training in the field of senior care, primarily through 400 online courses. Bertelsmann ceo and chairman Thomas Rabe said in the announcement: “The acquisition of RediLearning fits perfectly into our education strategy. E-Learning is a strategic segment for Bertelsmann as we develop our education business. Relias is a core investment, and we will continue to develop […]
eNews
Nook Unveils The GlowLight Plus
Following a premature leak on their own web site a month ago, on Wednesday Nook formally launched its first new ereader in two years, the GlowLight Plus. The new 6.9-ounce device — slightly heavier than its predecessor — is hailed as the company’s “first waterproof and dustproof device,” and therefore perfect “for worry-free reading anywhere – including the bath and the beach.” As in the past, a promotion offer that runs through the end of the year gives device buyers three free ebooks from a selection of 20 participating titles, three free magazines and a $5 content credit. “We’re excited to introduce the best ever Nook eReader […]
Pew Fails to Align Survey with NYT Article
The Pew Research Center released their latest survey of Americans’ reading habits, conducted in March and April. (Note in particular that it is a survey — of 1,900 adults.) Liberated of the need to drive front-page narratives, the Pew data is fairly consistent with their previous findings. The less positive news is that, in line with a year with fewer “must read” hit books as of the spring, the percentage of Americans who read at least one book in either print or ebook form fell to 72 percent — down from 76 percent the year before, and 79 percent in 2011, […]
Corporate: Canongate Falls In 2014, 3M Exits Library Market
Sales at Canongate fell 24 percent in 2014, down to £7.9 million, with a pre-tax loss of £1.3 million in a “difficult and dispiriting” year. The company blamed a bad fall list, with “some very significant advance write-offs we subsequently made.” 3M sold their North American Library Services division to One Equity Partners — which owns Bibliotheca — and they have “entered into agreements” to sell the remaining global Library Systems business as well. Bibliotheca promises that the expanded group “will combine the best of both worlds to help libraries captivate their communities, providing innovative library-focused solutions that connect with people at home, at the library, and […]
People: Meyer “Reimagines” TWILIGHT for 10th Annniversary; and More
Stephenie Meyer announced on Good Morning America a “surprise” new novel in the Twilight series, LIFE AFTER DEATH: TWILIGHT REIMAGINED, released today as bonus content bundled with the original book’s 10th anniversary edition. (The publisher had billed the anniversary edition as offering hundreds of pages of unspecified “bonus content”; this is the bonus.) The new 442-page story is a “reimagining” which flips gender, where Bella is now Beau and Edward is now Edythe. Meyer said in the novel’s foreword that she wrote the story as a response to comments that Bella was a “damsel in distress,” saying: “My answer to that […]
People, Etc.
Joy Bean has joined Little Bee Books as senior editor, licensed publishing. She was previously an editor at Marshall Cavendish and the associate children’s book editor at Publishers Weekly. Jen Loja has been promoted to svp, associate publisher at Penguin Children’s, reporting to Don Weisberg. He said in the announcement that Loja “is an essential contributor to and supporter of every department within our group. She works closely (but never intrusively), with our ten publishers in the curation of their lists, ensuring each of our titles is given the requisites and the opportunities to reach its widest potential readership. In […]