Cambridge MA, December 15, 2011 - The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and Publishing Technology plc (LSE: PTO) today announced a partnership to create a next-generation digital platform to host all of the organization’s published authoritative content online.

 The new custom-built site, which will be developed on Publishing Technology’s pub2web platform, will house the largest single collection of microbiology research available, including ASM’s journal titles dating back to 1916, its news magazine Microbe, a rapidly expanding image library, 240 book titles and a range of individual reports, articles and videos - all in one single aggregated site.

 By maximizing the digital opportunities available, ASM will be able to offer its community of scientists, clinicians, authors and librarians a flexible and user-friendly online experience via pub2web’s semantic technology offering tagging and faceted search. It will enable visitors to search, browse and discover ASM content quickly and effectively. ASM will in turn benefit from a more flexible and sophisticated platform that will allow it to experiment with new business models, new functionality and new formats of delivery.

 ASM is a long-standing customer of Publishing Technology sales and marketing consulting firm Publishers Communication Group (PCG), who continue to provide sales representation for the Society’s diverse content around the world. Additionally, the new ASM site design will be focus-group tested through PCG-conducted market research.

 “This strategic partnership expands upon our established relationship with Publishers Communication Group and will completely revamp our online offerings,” said Dr. David Hooper, ASM President. “The new project promises to be cutting edge, allowing our stakeholders to access our entire library with ease. We look forward to working closely with Publishing Technology to launch the site in the near future.”

”We are delighted to be working with ASM on this exciting project,” said George Lossius, CEO of Publishing Technology. “By combining the strength

 of our pub2web platform with the expertise of our marketing and sales consultancy division PCG we are able to provide cutting edge technology plus practical guidance on forecasting content sales, the roll out of new business models and focus groups to ensure that the new platform is tailored to the needs of the microbiology community. With such a diverse range of content sources being made accessible, searchable and discoverable in one single place, the ASM website will become the new online home of all things microbiology.”

 -ENDS-

 Notes to Editors:

 For more information, please contact:

Michael Groth,

Publishing Technology plc

Tel: +1 617 395 4089

Email: michael.groth[at]publishingtechnology[dot]com

 Publishing Technology plc:

Publishing Technology’s products and services include advance, ingentaconnect, VISTA, author2reader, pub2web, ICS and PCG. The Publishing Technology group enables publishers to focus on their core competences by providing a single, trusted partner for both technology requirements and business development services. It is one of the largest providers of software and services for the publishing industry, servicing eight out of ten of the world's largest publishers. The group’s proposition uniquely spans front and back office systems – complemented by a range of business development services – to provide the industry's only end-to-end suite of software specifically designed to support the publishing process. Capabilities cover editorial & production, product information, billing & fulfillment, content conversion & hosting, website development, marketing programs, information commerce, customer relationship management, rights & royalties and business intelligence. All application modules can be configured independently to meet specific publishers' needs and to allow flexible integration with existing systems. Associated sales and marketing services include consultancy and research, sales representation and telemarketing. The company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and has offices in the UK, US, Brazil, India, China and Australia.

About pub2web

The pub2web platform is a customized, multi-content publications portal—delivering all the functionality needed to support evolving online strategies and to satisfy the user base, however diverse their needs. Customers benefit from proven, regularly-updated technology while also maintaining full control of their brand, their content and their user relationships. It allows customers to help their users to explore all their content – whatever its format – with progressive browsing options driven by pub2web’s award-winning data storage and modeling.

Visit www.publishingtechnology.com, follow on Twitter @publishingtech, or connect on LinkedIn.

About ASM

The American Society for Microbiology is the world's largest scientific society of individuals interested in the microbiological sciences. The mission of the American Society for Microbiology is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide. A leader in society publishing with over 90 years of experience, ASM journals continue to advance the full spectrum of basic and clinical microbiology research, delivering cutting-edge science to researchers across the globe. ASM journals publish nearly a quarter of all microbiology articles, while accounting for over 38% of all citations in microbiology. ASM Press publishes a broad selection of texts, references, monographs, and general interest titles in the microbiological sciences that are used as the foundational texts in colleges and universities and as reference materials in laboratories around the world. Showcasing internationally renowned authors and editors with expertise in a broad range of disciplines, ASM Press titles have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Visit www.asm.org

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