E-Book Completes WAN's Automated Content Access Protocol Pilot Project

By: E&P Staff London-based MPS Technologies, a part of the Macmillan group of companies, reports that its BookStore electronic book was successfully used as part of a year-long Automated Content Access Protocol (ACAP) pilot project.

Designed to allow publishers to express their individual access and use policies in a language that search engine crawlers can read and understand, ACAP was developed by the World Association of Newspapers, the International Publishers Association and the European Publishers Council, in collaboration with publisher participants and search engines.

The BookStore digital content platform stores, displays and sells e-book content on behalf of publishers, enabling them to make their content available online and ensuring that it is easy to find via search engines.

MPS Technologies developed a test BookStore site for the ACAP pilot, for which it said it was the only publisher participant to focus on e-books.

"This industry-wide initiative is the answer to publishers who previously had limited options on how to make their online content accessible," WAN Chairman Gavin O'Reilly said in a statement. Implementing ACAP "takes a few minutes," O'Reilly continued, and will not adversely impact the functions of Web sites. "But this will send out a strong message that you care about how your content is used online and that you would like the confidence to make more high-quality content available on the net."

ACAP aims to devise an open, universal standard for automated expression of permissions online. The highly collaborative project encourages input from "anyone with an interest in this area." Further information, including simple instructions on how to implement ACAP, is at www.the-acap.org.