Tizra Blog

“Tizra’s support for cutting-edge web design was a key factor in our decision. They enabled us to achieve a modern, mobile-first user experience that fits our profile as a technology leader.” --Troy Martin, VP Operations, ABC-CLIO Tizra API's enabled complex, faceted search. With more than 8,000 eBooks already published, and a steady flow of 30-40 new releases every month, ABC-CLIO was well established as a leader in digital publishing. But their homegrown eBook platform wasn't keeping pace. They knew they were in a race to meet increasingly high user expectations, particularly as content consumption shifted to tablets and mobile devices. Initially, they considered leveraging their own outstanding in-house technology team to rebuild the site, but careful financial analysis revealed they'd get better value if they went outside. After surveying a field of 13 vendors they decided on Tizra .  Key factors included... Support for advanced, mobile-first d...

"In the first few weeks on the Tizra platform, we have already sold more than the entire previous quarter, plus we aren't sharing our revenue anymore." —Dean Manke, VP, Marketing & Sales, ASHP When the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) got tired of sharing ebook revenue with its offshore epublishing vendor, it looked for a way to take greater control of its digital content publishing and sales. This search led to Tizra. A critical factor behind the move was the need to achieve a seamless single sign-on integration with ASHP's existing Personify association management system, so that users would no longer have to juggle multiple usernames and passwords. Additional requirements included: Simple, intuitive user interfaces for readers… and ASHP publishing staff. An affordable solution that eliminated revenue sharing. Support for a wide range of sales models, including institutional sales, print/digital bundles, and flexible market...

"We needed to find a way to keep all our of customers together on the same site," --Melanie Jeffs, Director of Digital Products, Orca Book Publishers Orca, a Canadian-based publisher of award-winning books for children, teens and reluctant readers, used to maintain separate websites and e-commerce platforms for its various digital offerings. The company had its free teaching resources under its own domain, separate e-commerce stores for the U.S. and Candian booklists, and a third site supporting paid subscriptions to its Text2Reader language arts resources. Maintaining these disparate platforms was a headache and didn't provide a smooth customer experience. "We needed to find a way to keep all our of customers together on the same site," said Melanie Jeffs, Director of Digital Products at Orca. After closely examining a number of different e-commerce solutions, Orca selected the Tizra Digital Publishing Platform because it offered: The ability...

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) provides leadership in public and information policy to 125 research and academic libraries in the U.S. and Canada. A few years ago, in an effort to increase community engagement and reduce costs, ARL made the move from print to digital publications using the Tizra platform. "Our goal was not just to go e-only, but to get there with enhanced functionality," said Publications Program Officer Lee Anne George. When evaluating digital publishing platforms, ARL had some critical requirements including: Support for existing publication formats A full e-commerce platform supporting both free and paid content, as well as password- and IP-authenticated access for individual users or entire organizations Mobile responsive design support Full-text searching including relevancy ranking and linking to specific pages in search and social sharing Support for ARL's digital accessibility mandates After extensive testing, incl...

"We were most comfortable with Tizra because of their personal approach. As a small company, we wanted a close relationship with a company that provides the same level of support we deliver to our customers."  -- Curtis R. Vouwie, President and Publisher, OEM Health Information, Inc. OEM Health Information, Inc. is a small company with an outsized presence in its field.  They have been publishing books on occupational and environmental health topics for over thirty years, and their books are relied on by doctors and nurses who need to be able to access information in a wide range of settings, and have no time for tech hassles.  "We needed an ebook solution that provided simple, reliable access from the clinic or from the road," says President and Publisher Curtis Vouwie. With a small staff, Vouwie knew he needed outside help in choosing the right digital publishing platform.  He partnered with Laura Fillmore at Open Book Systems  (OBS), a publi...

"The Tizra architecture gives us confidence in our digital products, even with tens of thousands of students logging in." —Lawrence Frank, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, LAB-AIDS LAB-AIDS is in the business of delivering mission-critical education content, reliably and on a large scale.  For over 50 years, the company has developed, manufactured, and published science education materials for middle- and high-school students, and for teachers across the United States.  In that time, the company has built a reputation for delivering activity-based materials that go beyond the textbook. These materials need to be available to students and teachers at all times — especially during the after-school crunch time when students are doing homework. "Reliability and scalability are crucial to our business," says LAB-AIDS Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lawrence Frank. "The Tizra architecture gives us confidence in our digital products, e...

CCFCS curriculum materials hosted by Tizra are winning raves from teachers. After 44 years of empowering teachers with print materials that were aligned with key instructional goals, Texas Tech Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences (CCFCS) made the bold decision to go 100 percent digital using the Tizra digital publishing platform. At first, the task seemed daunting.  “We printed out a copy of each of the curricula and some of them were four inches thick,” says center director Patti Rambo.  In addition to a massive quantity of materials for its 33 courses with 300-350 teaching strategies per course, the school also needed to meet aggressive revenue goals and appeal to a diverse customer base. The Center’s search for solutions was exhaustive until they were directed to Tizra. “Tizra is flexible enough for us to make up the rules as we go along,” said Rambo. “We were able to design our pages so there’s less scrolling, and we were able to color code th...

Gibbs Smith Education a publisher specializing secondary school social studies textbooks, needed to find a way to move to digital publishing quickly to meet the requirements of school districts, while ensuring they met the curriculum standards set by each state.   “We needed to meet the needs of schools who want the option of print or digital,” said education sales and marketing director Corine Sayler. “We knew schools were not buying as many printed texts as they used to.” As a company that prides itself on Pulitzer nominated authors and meticulous attention to grade level-appropriate content, Gibbs Smith wanted to move to digital publishing in a way that preserved the levels of quality editorial and graphic design that had been so successful in print. Gibbs Smith also recognized that selling material in a digital format would open up new sales opportunities and revenue models, and was determined that any digital effort should be carried out on their own terms and ...