BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, U.S.A., May 1, 2006 - As a major development partner in the evolution of SUSHI (standardized usage statistics harvesting initiative), EBSCO is pleased to expand its involvement by serving as one of the sponsors for the upcoming NISO-hosted Webinar series about this standard.

The Webinar schedule is as follows:

     May 17, 2006 - 11 a.m. - noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
     Introduction to Librarians and Content Providers
     Maximum registrations accepted: 100

     May 24, 2006 - 11 a.m. - noon, EDT
     The Technology Unveiled
     Maximum registrations accepted: 100

A third interactive session aimed at developers implementing clients and/or servers in JAVA and/or .NET will be scheduled for a future date.

Each Webinar is free to pre-registrants who sign up one week in advance of the Webinar date. There is a $25 registration fee for those participants who sign up after these dates. Interested parties please note that each Webinar offers different content and that separate registrations are required for each event. To register, please visit: http://niso.webex.com.

About SUSHI
The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) is a NISO working group that is developing an automated request and response protocol for moving Project COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) Code of Practice usage statistics from providers to library electronic repositories. SUSHI will help libraries make better decisions by reducing the administrative overhead of using Project COUNTER statistics.

Project COUNTER was launched in 2002 to help librarians and publishers in the recording and exchange of usage statistics for electronic resources, initially journals and databases. By following COUNTER's Code of Practice, vendors can provide library customers with Excel or CSV (comma delimited) files of usage data using COUNTER's standardized formats and data elements. The result is a consistent, credible, and compatible set of usage data from multiple content providers.

About EBSCO
EBSCO Information Services provides libraries and research centers with electronic and print journal subscription services, e-resource access and management services, full-text and secondary database development and access, an OpenURL-compliant link resolver, e-books, Web-based book purchasing and related information services. EBSCO maintains a title database of more than 300,000 title listings and upholds relationships with more than 78,000 publishers around the world.

EBSCO's 32 Regional Offices worldwide are staffed with personnel who speak the local language and understand the particular challenges faced by librarians in their areas, offering a uniquely personal level of service. Specialized divisions serve academic, biomedical, government, public, school and special libraries as well as corporations.