images.jpgFrom the University of Michigan Press blog:

The University of Michigan Press announced today that it launched a new ebook rental program for more than 250 of its scholarly titles, allowing students or faculty to rent digital copies of the books at a discount for a month or six months.

“The University of Michigan Press is committed to providing our titles in every format people would like to use, and to keeping readers’ costs down wherever possible,” said Karen Hill, Assistant Director and Digital Manager for the Press. “We expect that the lower rental prices will be a special help for students and faculty who only need a book for a single semester or a single research paper.”

Costs will range from 40% of list price for a 30-day rental to 75% of list price for a 180-day rental. For example, a paperback textbook might carry a list price of $22.95; it could be viewed as a rental for $10 for 30 days, or $18 for 180 days. Scholars who rent a book will have the option at the end of the rental period to buy it permanently at an additional charge. Purchased versions include additional interactive features.

If customers endorse the program, the Press may make as many as 325 books available by the end of the year. Electronic files purchased from the Press Web site are accessed using Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) free software. ADE files are delivered via download links sent by email, and can be shared across up to six devices registered to the user. ADE is currently available for PC, Mac, and Sony Reader, with more devices to come.

To see a list of the titles currently available for rental, visit www.press.umich.edu/ebooks.

Thanks to Dan D’Agostino for the link.

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