Thursday, July 6, 2000

Web Site Dispenses Books, Journals, Dissertations -- and Literary Advice By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK A Web site that sells books, dissertations, legal documents, and other material of interest to academics marked its debut on the Internet on Wednesday. The site, Contentville.com, also features literary advice columns from a panel of academic experts and leading figures in the arts, politics, and other fields. Steven Brill, the founder of the site, and also the chairman of Brill's Content, a magazine about journalism, said the goal of the site is to be "the ultimate dream store for content." While Contentville.com will sell every book in print, through an arrangement with Ingram Book Group, a wholesaler, Mr. Brill said books themselves "are a relatively low priority for us." The site, he said, will emphasize its ability to provide and sell journal articles, magazines, scholarly research, transcripts, and historical documents. Contentville.com has developed relationships with a number of companies to provide such material, including EBSCO and Primedia for magazine and journal subscriptions, Bell & Howell for dissertations, and Libris for rare books. It will also sell electronic books. The site works a bit like a library catalog, allowing customers to search for resources on a particular topic. The site then provides an eclectic list of books, dissertations, historic speeches, and other relevant material, along with their prices. For instance, when a user searches under "feminism," the site returns with suggestions for Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own under books, a 1900 talk about birth control by Margaret Sanger under speeches, and a 1994 Ph.D. thesis on birth mothers who search for the children they gave up for adoption under dissertations. For some, though, the searches may seem more random than eclectic. For example, a less-directed "browse" search for "literary" topics returned with recommendations for Cry, the Beloved Country, The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You, the Cliff's Notes to A Separate Peace, and a French-English dictionary. Typically, books will sell for 25 percent below the suggested retail price and magazines for the lowest available subscription price. Most individual articles and documents will be sold for a few dollars apiece, and be accompanied by an offer for a subscription when appropriate. Publishers "expect this to generate lots of subscriptions," Mr. Brill said. All prices, he said, are set with publishers' approval. Eventually, the site will also offer downloadable video clips, government documents, and newsletters. Contentville.com has approached The Chronicle to discuss a possible relationship with the site. The emphasis on electronic delivery, said Mr. Brill, is what sets Contentville apart from companies like Amazon.com that spend a lot of money warehousing and mailing out books. Contentville will make its money by marketing and selling the products of others, and, whenever possible, in electronic form. As part of its marketing service, the Contentville.com site features recommendations from a roster of contributing editors that includes Harold Bloom, Esther Dyson, Anita Hill, and Wendy Wasserstein. The site also carries advice to readers from about two dozen academic experts. For example, for readers interested in bioarchaeology, the site lists several recommendations from Clark Spenser Larsen, a professor of archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It also includes a spot where readers can electronically add Mr. Larsen's most recent book to their "shopping cart," though the professor said he agreed to participate because he believes that academics should take every opportunity to explain their expertise to the public, and not for the plug. Although Contentville will be marketing to college campuses, Mr. Brill said he doesn't consider the site a threat to college bookstores, because of its emphasis on nonbook materials. Contentville.com is backed by CBS, which traded $40-million worth of advertising and promotional space for a 35-percent stake in the venture, along with NBC, Ingram, EBSCO, and other partners. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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