Simon & Schuster has announced the introduction of its one-year pilot e-book lending program which will begin in partnership with New York Public Libraries.

New York trade house Simon & Schuster was one of the few companies that had not begun any deals regarding lending e-books to libraries. However, they seem to have followed suit, according to a press release that was released Monday. The statement announced the introduction of its one-year pilot e-book lending program which will begin in partnership with New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Library.

In the course of this pilot program, Simon & Schuster will make all of its titles available to these three libraries for unlimited number of checkouts. After a year, the libraries will need to repurchase all the e-books. The publishing house will also make its titles available for retail purchase via the library website.

Under the new pilot program scheduled to launch April 30 for NYPL and Brooklyn, and mid-May for Queens Library, patrons can borrow an e-book, or they may purchase a copy of an S&S e-book from the library websites and the libraries will receive a share of the proceeds from each sale. Libraries can purchase any S&S e-book title-frontlist or backlist for lending for a year from the date of purchase. Each title can still only be checked out one user at a time, despite the ability to offer an unlimited number of digital copies. But unlike the HarperCollins model,which limited library checkouts to 26 per title during the year of purchase, there is no limit on the number of checkouts for any title.

"We have always recognized the important place of libraries in our communities. They play a vital role in fostering and encouraging reading in every strata of our society, and they help to create an audience for our books and authors," said Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. "We are delighted to partner with these libraries, which have shown an extraordinary willingness to try innovative models with the potential to be a long-term solution for all involved. In making our full list available we think we will get a better sense of lending patterns and patron behavior, and I am particularly eager to start seeing the actual data so that we can better understand this still-new phenomenon."