FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2003<.div>

Berkeley Electronic Press-Powered Institutional Repository Reaches Major Milestones

The Berkeley Electronic Press today announced that the eScholarship Repository, a University of California digital collection powered by Berkeley Electronic Press technology, has reached several major milestones. The Repository, which houses a variety of scholarly materials produced under the auspices of University of California research units, centers, and departments, recently posted its 1,500th publication. In addition, the collection also logged its 100,000th full text download, and added its 100th research unit to the active publishing roster.

Launched in April, 2002, and sponsored jointly by the UC Office of the President and the California Digital Library (CDL), the eScholarship Repository has rapidly become an important hub for authors and researchers alike. These milestones demonstrate both the Repository's growing importance within the scholarly community and the power of Berkeley Electronic Press technology.

The Berkeley Electronic Press provides Internet-based tools for the submission, processing, and posting of materials to the eScholarship Repository. In addition to simplifying the depositing of papers, the unique technology allows readers, at no charge, to discover and view relevant research by topic, author, or sponsoring research department with the site's straightforward organization and search tools. The system also allows users to sign up for a service alerting them to new content, tailored to their unique interests.

Included within the eScholarship Repository are a number of peer-reviewed publications, working papers, monographs, and other scholarly materials. The Berkeley Electronic Press system creates custom workflows for each participating unit, allowing for the easy co-mingling of publication types and editorial or administrative oversight.

About The Berkeley Electronic Press

Founded by academics in 1999, The Berkeley Electronic Press ("bepress") is both a publisher of peer-reviewed electronic journals and a software developer, having created the institutional repository platform that powers Digital Commons as well as the University of California's eScholarship Repository. The Company produces tools to improve scholarly communication via innovative and effective means of content production and dissemination. Bepress has a portfolio of products and services that reduces the costs of and barriers to access.

For additional information on bepress, please see: www.bepress.com.