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Pearson Education Offers Low-Cost Digital Textbooks For College Students

Hundreds Of Leading Titles At 50 Percent Savings

Upper Saddle River, NJ , August 16, 2004 – Financial relief is arriving for thousands of college students around the country as they begin the 2004-2005 academic year. Pearson Education, the world’s leading educational publisher, and Safari® Books Online are introducing a comprehensive, low-priced digital textbook program called SafariX Textbooks Online. This program’s “WebBooks," a new option to the print textbook, save students 50% off the suggested list price of the print equivalent edition. Safari® Books Online, LLC is a Pearson Education and O’Reilly Media, Inc. joint venture.

Students can choose to buy a print edition textbook or access the same course-critical content by subscribing to one or more of over 100 SafariX WebBooks currently available at www.SafariX.com , with more than 300 to be available by the end of 2004. The WebBooks offer all the convenience and interactive benefits of the Web, allowing students to print pages, make annotations, take notes, search the full text, and add bookmarks to organize their study, anywhere they have browser access.

SafariX Textbooks Online™ are a significant new addition to PearsonChoices, which offers the highest quality learning programs and a wide choice of media, formats and price points. The PearsonChoices program represents Pearson’s commitment to providing significant flexibility and value for hundreds of its leading titles. Each title in the PearsonChoices program is available in a range of print and digital formats. Faculty and students can choose from low-cost alternate print editions, custom editions built around their courses, Text/Web combinations, SafariX WebBooks, and the traditional textbook.

“For decades, our imprints have supported America’s college students and faculty with a range of innovative learning programs that enhance the education process," said Will Ethridge, President of Pearson’s Higher Education, International, and Professional Group. “The recent public concern over the rising cost of higher education has reinforced our strategy that has been years in the making. Our current print and digital choices address faculty and student needs for learning materials that fit their particular educational goals and budgets. SafariX is an innovative way of adding further value and choice."

Pearson’s decision to offer a WebBook alternative to printed texts is supported by research into the changing educational needs of college students, faculty and authors, as well as a recognition of their concerns about the rising cost of a college education. In the findings of a current Student Monitor survey, half of all the students questioned said they are likely to purchase a low cost online text, assuming a savings of $25.

Ethridge added, “We’re committed to continuing to work closely with student groups, faculty, authors and bookstores to identify practical responses to the escalating cost of higher education."

Pearson Higher Education offers leading textbooks in every major discipline area from Pearson-branded imprints Prentice Hall, Addison-Wesley, Benjamin Cummings, Allyn & Bacon, and Longman. A pioneer in online learning, Pearson’s Higher Education imprints support more than two million college students in the U.S. with their popular online learning platforms including extensive Web support services like Research Navigator™, a student-friendly, Web-based tool that facilitates the research process with four exclusive databases, and The Tutor Center, a one-to-one tutoring service providing students personal access to instructors who can further explain concepts and solutions to problems in Pearson Higher Education texts.

Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the author of the world’s leading marketing text, commented, "As a long-time textbook author, I am sympathetic to the concerns of students over the increasing cost of higher education. And as a marketing scholar, my message to companies has always been that they need to respond to changing consumer needs. I applaud Pearson for this initiative and I am happy to be part of it. Students and professors need more options, and Pearson is providing them some bold and helpful alternatives."

Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the author of the world’s leading marketing text, commented, "As a long-time textbook author, I am sympathetic to the concerns of students over the increasing cost of higher education. And as a marketing scholar, my message to companies has always been that they need to respond to changing consumer needs. I applaud Pearson for this initiative and I am happy to be part of it. Students and professors need more options, and Pearson is providing them some bold and helpful alternatives."

Along with Kotler’s and Beebe’s seminal textbooks, SafariX Textbooks Online™ will feature such widely used textbooks as Elemental Geosystems, 4th Edition by Robert W. Christopherson and Java: How to Program, 6th Edition by Harvey M. Deitel and Paul J. Deitel. Other textbooks planned for release on SafariX Textbooks Online™ are posted on www.SafariX.com .

The SafariX Textbooks Online™ service is delivered using a proven and secure platform for digital book delivery, developed through Safari® Books Online, LLC, a joint venture between Pearson Technology Group, the world’s leading publisher of textbooks for IT professionals, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. Sean Devine, Managing Director of Safari® Books Online, LLC, commented, “In the three years since its inception, Safari has grown its paid B2C subscriber base to approximately 25,000 users and has developed a corporate client base of more than 400 accounts from small workgroups to enterprise-wide contracts, with as many as 40,000 unique users. Hundreds of thousands of students have access to Safari’s technical e-reference library, through Safari contracts with 400 academic libraries. The time is right to expand this proven platform into WebBooks and offer its capabilities across all of Higher Education publishing, for the benefit of all Higher Education students.”

About Pearson Education
Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational publishing. With brands such as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, Pearson Addison-Wesley, Pearson Allyn & Bacon, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, and others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from birth through college and beyond. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO; FTSE: PSON), the international media company. Pearson's businesses also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

To view the Electronic Press Kit, go to www.pearsoned.com/safarix .

About PearsonChoices
Pearson Higher Education is committed to providing significant flexibility and value for hundreds of its leading titles. Each title in the PearsonChoices program is available in several formats in addition to SafariX WebBooks and the traditional textbook. Faculty can also choose from brief, custom, and text/Web combinations, and now SafariX WebBooks: