Palm Digital Media, a publisher and retailer of eBooks for handhelds, introduced an education purchase program today at the National School Board Association's Technology & Learning conference in Dallas. The program offers schools special pricing for its Palm Reader Pro eBook application and Palm eBook Studio, an authoring tool that lets users create their own eBooks.

Mike Segroves, director of Business Development for Palm Digital Media, said "The education purchase program is Palm Digital Media's first step in making this technology more affordable to schools." Palm Digital Media said it houses a library of almost 7,000 titles, including an extensive collection of classic literature, poetry, biographies, books about science and nature, sports and athletics, reference materials and many of Random House's critically acclaimed Modern Library titles.

The company said Palm Reader Pro lets students and teachers read their library of eBooks on the platform of their choice. An Internet connection is required to purchase and download eBooks, which then can be moved between desktops, notebooks and handhelds. "Palm Reader eBooks are versatile and practical," said Segroves. "Students can start an assignment at school on a desktop system and finish it at home on a handheld. Schools can minimize the expense of lost, stolen and damaged books. The emergence of eTextbooks over the next few years may even mean the end to kids carrying 20-pound backpacks to and from school."

Palm Reader Pro includes a free copy of Webster's New World Vest Pocket Dictionary, auto-scrolling, bookmarks and customizable viewing orientations. The company said desktop versions give students and teachers ways to stamp their eBooks with their own style by letting users create textured "paper" such as parchment and imprint them with their own graphic designs or photographs, or highlight text with colorful digital pens.