The National Academies Press Makes All PDF Books Free to Download

[ozoned]

What the title sez:

May even be something worth reading there, If I can find something that does not have the obligatory CO2 genuflection.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=06022011

Date: June 2, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The National Academies Press Makes All PDF Books Free to Download;
More Than 4,000 Titles Now Available Free to All Readers

WASHINGTON -- As of today all PDF versions of books published by the National Academies Press will be downloadable to anyone free of charge. This includes a current catalog of more than 4,000 books plus future reports produced by the Press. The mission of the National Academies Press (NAP) -- publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council -- is to disseminate the institutions' content as widely as possible while maintaining financial sustainability. To that end, NAP began offering free content online in 1994. Before today’s announcement, all PDFs were free to download in developing countries, and 65 percent of them were available for free to any user.

"Our business model has evolved so that it is now financially viable to put this content out to the entire world for free," said Barbara Kline Pope, executive director for the National Academies Press. "This is a wonderful opportunity to make a positive impact by more effectively sharing our knowledge and analyses."

Based on the performance of NAP’s current free PDFs, projections suggest that this change will enhance dissemination of PDF reports from about 700,000 downloads per year to more than 3 million by 2013.

Printed books will continue to be available for purchase through the NAP website and traditional channels. The free PDFs are available exclusively from the NAP’s website, http://www.nap.edu/, and remain subject to copyright laws. PDF versions exist for the vast majority of NAP books. Exceptions include some books that were published before the advent of PDFs; books from the Joseph Henry Press imprint; and in cases where contractually prohibited, such as reference books in the Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals series.

Contacts:

Lorin Hancock, Media Relations Associate
Shaquanna Shields, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu

Additional resources:
Free PDF FAQ [http://www.nap.edu/about/about_pdf.html]
NAP Customer Service
888-624-8373; e-mail customer_service@nap.edu

 

[wrathex]

Fantastic news. I've walked into so much red tape (pay to view articles -aaaargh !!) when looking for information, that I will immediately delve into this new archive, thanks

Already downloaded and reading:
Space Studies Board Annual Report 2008


excerpt:

Returning to my opening comments, we know that the planet’s environment is changing on all spatial scales including global, and change is rapid, perhaps more rapid than at any time in human history.

Further, we know that many of these changes are occurring as a result of human activities.

These human-induced changes are over and above the stresses imposed by the natural variability of a dynamic planet and are intersecting with the effects of past and existing patterns of conflict, poverty, disease, and malnutrition.

 

[ozoned]

Yah, I hate the pay-to-view thing, I hope more publishers take this route.
BTW, have you ever noticed, that google books excerpts always, but always, make every page available except the one you want to read!