Hachette Book Group USA Upgrades Digital Asset Management System with TeleScope Enterprise Solution

New York and Toronto - Nov. 27, 2007 - Hachette Book Group USA (HBG), one of the largest trade publishers in the U.S., today announced that it will upgrade its digital asset management (DAM) system with a solution powered by North Plains Systems Corp., a leading provider of digital asset management software.

The company plans to use the system called TeleScope Enterprise to manage rich media assets, such as Quark and Adobe InDesign files, for its base publishing business, and to integrate other content, such as audio and video, over time.

"We are streamlining workflow related to managing digital content, enabling our team to focus on creating and selling our content without extraneous processes impeding their work. In addition, as we develop new business ventures, TeleScope Enterprise will be an excellent resource, allowing us and our business partners to take full advantage of our digital content," said Beth Ford, Chief Operating Officer of Hachette Book Group USA.

Ms. Ford added that the upgrade of HBG's DAM system is one initiative in its ongoing digital strategy. This strategy includes investments in a state-of-the-art redesign of HBG's website to be launched early next year, and its OpenBook program, which leverages technology to create online book widgets, offering readers a simple way to showcase their favorite book titles on their blogs and social networking sites without jeopardizing the copyrights of the authors.

"North Plains has a long legacy of success in providing rich media management solutions for businesses in the publishing industry," said Hassan Kotob, President & CEO of North Plains Systems. "We're extremely pleased that Hachette Book Group USA has selected TeleScope Enterprise to help streamline their publishing workflows, reduce overall costs, and provide foundational support for the growth of their business."

The industry's most advanced, feature-rich, scalable digital asset management platform, TeleScope Enterprise serves as the central repository for an organization's digital media content, metadata and the business logic that turns content into currency. Leading organizations today rely on the TeleScope solution to provide an end-to-end digital media supply chain that supports the creation, integration and repurposing of rich media assets.

About Hachette Book Group USA
Hachette Book Group USA is a leading provider of books in print, online, audio, and print on demand formats. Based in New York, Hachette Book Group is a division of Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. Hachette Book Group's product lines include adult, illustrated, religious, children's and digital and audio books under the Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, Yen Press and Hachette Book Group Digital Media imprints. Its bestselling authors include Ansel Adams, David Baldacci, Marc Brown, Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, Malcolm Gladwell, Robert Kiyosaki, Walter Mosley, Joyce Meyer, Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, David Sedaris, Anita Shreve, Nicholas Sparks, Cecily von Ziegesar, and Paula White. For more information, visit www.hbgusa.com.

About North Plains Systems Corp.
Founded in 1994, North Plains Systems Corp. is the leading provider of digital asset management solutions. Its pioneering technology, focus and vision have been recognized throughout the industry and are evident in such innovative products such as TeleScope Enterprise and TeleScope Video Manager. Utilizing North Plains' platform agnostic approach to managing digital assets, more than 450 customers benefit from North Plains' expertise in delivering industry defining solutions for video asset management, digital media management and distribution, centralization, workflow optimization, and virtual collaboration. For further information please visit www.northplains.com.

Media Contacts:
April Hattori
Hachette Book Group USA
212-364-1444
april.hattori@hbgusa.com

Jill Reuter/Mike O'Connell
PAN Communications
978-474-1900
northplains@pancomm.com