As of September 2006 19,000 free e-books are available from the Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog and over 2 million e-books are downloaded each month from the Gutenberg web site [1]. Academic and scholarly libraries are preparing for a significant shift from physical to electronic material presentation within the next few years. Within this context, we review some recent developments in e-book and its impacts on academic libraries.

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CollECTeR '06, 9 December, Adelaide

E-Book Technology and Its impact on Libraries

Elsie S. K. Chan

Australian Catholic University, Australia

elsie.chan@acu.edu.au

Paula M. C. Swatman, and Linda Wilkins

University of South Australia, Australia

paula.swatman@unisa.edu.au, linda.wilkins@postgrads.unisa.edu.au

Abstract

As of September 2006 19,000 free e-books are available from the Project Gutenberg

Online Book Catalog and over 2 million e-books are downloaded each month from the

Gutenberg web site [1]. Academic and scholarly libraries are preparing for a significant

shift from physical to electronic material presentation within the next few years. Within

this context, we review some recent developments in e-book and its impacts on academic

libraries.

1. Introduction

As electronic access to information and entertainment becomes ever more attractive,

media such as books, newspapers, music and video are moving to digital format for easy

access over the Internet – both in terms of the conversion of existing paper books to

digital format ('made digital' books) and the creation of new titles in electronic form

('born digital' books, or 'e-books'). Handwritten codexes and printed books have existed

for millennia [2]: arguably, for almost 5000 years since the time of the Mesopotamian

civilization. E-books, by contrast, are a relatively recent invention which dates back less

than a century. The concept of the e-book was first mooted by Vannevar Bush whose

'Memex', the forerunner of what we now know as hypertext, is best known from his essay

"As We May Think", published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1945 [3].

[Memex] was a contraction of "memory extender". Bush described the device as

electronically linked to a library and able to display books and films from the

library, and further able to automatically follow references from these to the

work referenced." [4].

Inspired by Bush's ideas, Douglas Engelbart further developed the concept in 1962

and in "Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework" described a system for

collaboratively sharing and working on electronic documents [5]. In 1971 Michael Hart

was given $100,000,000 of computer time at the Materials Research Lab of the University

of Illinois and announced that the greatest value created by computers: 'would not be

computing itself, but the storage, retrieval and searching of what was stored in our

libraries' [6]. He sent an electronic "Declaration of Independence" to as many people as

he could reach on the networks of the day and later posted the declaration, which he

believed would eventually be an electronic fixture in the computer libraries of

100,000,000 computer users of the future [6]. Later in that year Hart founded Project

Gutenberg, intended to make information, books and other materials available to the

general public in formats the vast majority of computers, programs and people can easily

read, use, quote, and search [7]. As at September 2006, there were 19,000 free e-books in

the Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog and over 2 million e-books are downloaded

2

each month from the Gutenberg web site [1]. While not providing free book downloads,

e-books.com established in September 2000, publishes 69,000 popular, professional and

academic e-books which are available for download for the Adobe reader, and the

Mobipocket and Microsoft readers at a lower price than the physical print form [8].

An e-book is not simply a book in electronic format, but can even be used as a

marketing tool. Baen Books, who publish a number of series, have found that giving away

electronic editions of the previous installments on their series to coincide with the release

of a new volume boosts the sale of the new book [9].

A detailed history timeline of the development of the e-book can be found on the

Guardian Unlimited web site [10] but is beyond the scope of this paper, which focuses on

studies of on-going experimentation with a variety of e-book technologies and the impact

of e-books on libraries – in particular, on academic libraries.

2. Engaging with E-Book Technology

The term 'e-book' is unsatisfactory in many respects. In the case of traditional print

books, users can immediately understand and identify elements belonging to book

technology. By contrast, the term e-book does not explain either the form or its operations

[11]. Endeavouring to understand the term 'e-book' a little better, the Electronic Book

Exchange (EBX) draft defines an eBook as a digital object which is the electronic

representation of a book; adding that, although an e-book may consist of as little as a

single page, it is normally thought of as an electronic analogue of a multi-page

hardcover/paperback book [12]. The Online Information Exchange (ONIX) is "the

international standard for representing and communicating book industry rich product

information in electronic form between business partners in the supply chain" [13] and

identifies three e-book entities [14]:

• E-book content: a package of text and other content a publisher puts together to

be realised in one or more e-book formats

• E-book rendering: a realisation of an eBook content package in a particular

format for a particular eBook reader or family of readers, whether for

downloading for local use of by remote online access

• E-book component: a portion of text or other content which is used or available to

be used in electronic form as part of an e-book content package [15].

As a generalised term, 'e-book' was initially applied to three types of appliances:

e-book, e-tablet and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Only their design, purpose

and size distinguished them from software book readers. Reader software can be

categorised by e-book format (for example Adobe PDF, HTML and Microsoft

readers are examples of e-book document formats).

Audio e-books, also known as digital talking books (DTB), add the dimension of

sound to the electronic presentation of textual content. DTB technology allows large

amounts of textual information and formatting to be stored, transcribed into a variety

of formats, and easily navigated. The EaseReader software, a digital talking book

player developed by Dolphin Computer Access, synchronises audio to the text and

plays/displays ebooks on desktop and laptop PCs [16].

2.1. Compiler Software for E-Books

A major obstacle to the rapid uptake of e-books is the lack of a widely accepted

standard for hardware, software and access.

3

E-book compilers, computer software packages, turn contents which have been

developed and saved as HTML, text pages or sometimes PDF formats into a single

executable file. These compilers are readily available commercially and some can be

downloaded for free as a trial version for a limit period of time [17, 18] – but as this list

makes clear, there is no 'standard' available:

• Ebook Maker v.2.0

• Instant eCover Creator!

• Easy PDF: Complete Publishers Tool Kit

• Amazing Web Tools!

• HTML Encryptor Software

• Vend-O-Matic

• eBook Cover Templates

• Do-It-Yourself eBook Graphics Kit

• The Free-To-Sell EBook Package

• EBook Edit Pro

• Activ EBook

• HyperMaker HTML

• HTML Compiler Pro

• Illuminatus v4.51

• NeoBook

• Ebook Creator v.1.0

• ebook Generator

• WinEBook

• Easy Reader v.2.2

2.2. E-books in Public Libraries

The period between 1999 and 2001 saw a surge in e-book reader trials in libraries in

the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia1 . Responses to trials of e-

book reader hardware in Australia, Canada and the US, from pilot group users and

librarians alike, were overwhelmingly positive [19]. In Australia, user-participants in the

Brisbane Public Library e-book reader pilot study enjoyed the compact, portable nature,

adjustable font size, dictionary; and search and book mark functions of dedicated e-book

readers; and the librarians were keen to showcase the new technology. Many saw the

readers as an opportunity to expose their community to technology as it 'came down the

pipeline' [19].

A generic feature of rapid technological change is the proliferation of designs, many

of which will inevitably fail over time [20]. At a time when proprietary platforms

dominated the marketplace, librarians found it difficult to make decisions about which

device to select, which text format to choose; and what copyright arrangements to take up.

Librarians who had pioneered e-book reader technology trials in multi-year pilot projects

found themselves tied to restrictive access models with exclusive proprietary book file

formats. Such formats, which can become obsolete at any moment, re strict the uptake of

and support for e-book reader hardware. The limited range of titles available on the

hardware also meant their appeal to borrowers faded over time (Lynch 2001). By 2005 a

number of these early adopters had concluded that 'dedicated readers with pre-loaded

content were not what patrons most wanted in an e-book'2 .

1 For example, Maricopa County Public Library in Phoenix, Arizona had 100 Rocket e-Book Pro

readers available for loan in 2001 [19].

2 Personal communication: M Williams, Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library US, Nov 30 th

2005.

4

The introduction of software book readers which operate on general-purpose

computers and require no additional financial outlay for a separate hardware device or

book reading appliance has effectively turned the desktop or laptop into a book reading

device, although this means that reading must be undertaken while sitting in front of a

computer – not as convenient an experience as 'traditional' reading, which can take place

anywhere. Many of the users accessing texts electronically on general-purpose computers

appear to be doing so in academic and research library settings, where convenience is a

less important issue; and where access to a wide range of material is particularly

important and time-critical.

A breakthrough technology from Sony has the potential to 'move the goalposts' for e-

book uptake and acceptance. The Sony Reader™, launched at the Consumer Electronic

Fair in Las Vegas in January 2006, replaces the traditional LCD device with electronic

paper. Sony believes that this dedicated e-book device may well do for consumption of

books by the general public what the iPod has done for consumption of music. The

Reader, which is about the size and weight of a small paperback book, displays its text on

a page of high-resolution electronic paper using Sony's proprietary E-Ink™ format [21].

The Reader can hold up to 80 books at a time and e-books can be downloaded from about

10,000 titles at CONNECT, Sony's online store (where books out of copyright can be

downloaded without charge).

It remains to be seen whether the quality of the resolution and ease

of use of the Reader will outweigh the proprietary nature of this

device (Sony's previous attempts to restrict access to their own

proprietary format, as with the Beta video format, have not proven

successful). If consumers take up Sony Readers with the same

enthusiasm they have shown for iPods, however, public access to e-

books (in libraries as well as from home) may increase

exponentially.

2.3. E-books in Academic Libraries

Academic libraries are particularly well-suited to the e-market with their large,

expensive and rapidly dated reference books, which are costly to weed out [22].While all

librarians have a professional commitment to efficient document delivery and place

priority on offering the content their users require, librarians in research settings are under

significant additional pressure to seek optimal methods for: providing access,

disseminating, receiving and reporting publications. Students have now come to expect

free internet access on-campus; and part-time students require remote, 24/7 access via

private ISPs, while researchers place priority on speed, timing and having the latest in

cutting-edge technology3 . Institutional requirements for the library to provide information

in a cost-effective way add to these pressures from competing constituencies.

Electronic delivery systems appear to offer solutions to many of these requirements

and differing needs. Online search functions, easier navigation, the ability to cut and paste,

well-organised and up-to-date materials, convenience (no carrying of books), paper-

saving and lower levels of physical maintenance are all attractive features of e-book

provision. A further major attraction (perhaps the most important of all) is the much

wider potential access which a move to e-books might be able to bring about. For

3 A prime example of such researcher-driven demand is the members of medical faculties who - on

an individual basis - typically rate as the highest users of electronic resources [24].

5

academic libraries, in particular, reader access to conference proceedings and a broader

range of academic journals is a very attractive feature of these new technologies (provided,

of course, that conference organisers and journal publishers make their material available

in this way).

These features of the research constituency favour electronic delivery and thus offer a

partial explanation for the dramatic growth in e-resources as a proportion of academic

library budgets. Underpinning the drive for uptake is the fact that electronic publishing

has transformed the book into a digital product and thus into a market offering. The

potential for expanding this market underpins the considerable economic interest in e-

books amongst publishers and aggregators.

3. E-Book Business Models

The earliest e-book business models were published in December 2000 by the

University of Rochester [23], which compared three emerging models: netLibrary,

Questia and ebrary.

netLibrary Questia ebrary

Target Market public, academic &

school libraries academic

students academic students

Role of libraries create and purchase

access to collection

on behalf of patrons

none market ebrary in

exchange for 5%

of revenues

Number of documents in the

collection 26,000 + 50,000 by Jan

2001; 250,000

within 3 years

not known

Types of documents monographs monographs and

journals monographs,

journals, annuals,

maps and manuals

Method of purchasing access

right by title plus yearly

subscription fee subscription pay per use

Extent of access limited to static

collection determined

by library

entire collection entire collection

Number of simultaneous users

that can use a given text one user at a time unlimited Unlimited

Records provided for library's

public catalog? yes, if MARC records

are purchased and

loaded no no

Table 1 e-book business models in 2000

Source: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/main/newsletter1-2/vol2-Contents2.htm

Rao [25] points out that, from the point of view of libraries and information centres,

e-books have already enabled the instant delivery of material; in addition to saving shelf

space and solving the problem of lost or damaged titles. Rao also points to the advantage

which e-books' adjustable fonts offer in providing resources for the visually impaired –

and identifies the possibility of offering electronic "course packs" to support specific

modules in e-book form for academic courses. In an earlier paper, however [26] he notes

that e-book technology creates circulation problems for librarians, whose standard

methods of lending and retrieving books do not work so well for e-books – the Digital

Rights Management (DRM) technologies in use, as well as the incompatibilities of

various proprietary standards, mean that downloaded e-books are frequently locked into a

particular format and/or device, making it difficult for readers to access some books in

some environments.

6

It is still very difficult to obtain reliable empirical data on business models in the area

of e-publishing and e-books. The Academic Research Libraries (ARL) surveys of 2002

and 2003 [27], designed to discover current academic library activities in this area,

identified only publishers' pricing models of all the various components of a complete

online business model: "eight of the publishers offered options that included print, plus a

fee for access to electronic equivalents; print, plus a fee for access to the full set of

electronic titles; or electronic, plus a fee for print equivalents. Many publishers were still

offering electronic access free with print, but this option seems to be disappearing in favor

of options that secure greater rights for libraries, such as more content, archiving,

interlibrary loans (ILL), e-reserves, and course packs" [28].

Table 2 provides a list of some of the key e-book suppliers, with a brief description of

their offerings. Many of these publishers are already major academic library suppliers and,

although their offerings are still largely 'push' models, greater levels of sophistication in

the academic library sector may well see a move towards 'consumer pull' business

models over the next few years.

Major e-book suppliers Descriptions

EBL

www.eblib.com

• offers around 18,000 titles from around 90 publishers.

• includes options for multiple concurrent use, unlimited

access and short-term circulation.

• individual e-book chapters can be set aside for reserve

lending or be included within course packs.

Proquest Safari Books

Online

proquestcombo.safaribooksonl

ine.com

• prices are weighted based on book demand.

• publishes mainly IT books4 .

• offers outright purchase rather than subscription; as well as

the option of a small starter package (Cox 2004).

NetLibrary

www.netlibrary.com

• offers a collection of some 90,000 e-book titles, from more

than 300 publishers.

• a subsidiary of the OCLC library cooperative.

• Accessed by 5,500 libraries and organizations.

ebrary

www.ebrary.com

• more than 60,000 e-book titles from more than 200

publishers,

• accessed by some 500 libraries in 60 countries.

Questia

www.questia.com

• offers 50,000 e-book titles, more than 119,000 journal

articles and over 159,000 newspaper articles

• claims to be the world's largest online library of books and

journal articles.

Science Direct

www.sciencedirect.com

• offers over 2,000 journal titles and hundreds of books from

Elsevier

• claims that users can "access more than 7 million full-text

articles and more than 75 million abstract records, from all

fields of science"

Table 2 Major e-book suppliers (as at 2004)

4. Issues that Impact on E-book Uptake in Libraries

International multi-year pilot studies, focus groups and case studies conducted with

publishers, librarians and library users between 2001 and 2005 revealed a number of

concerns that continue to have an impact on e-book uptake in libraries.

4 IT books represent a category frequently selected by librarians undertaking e-book trials 'as their

audiences are more accepting of their delivery mechanisms' (Michael 2005).

7

Competing Constituencies: Instead of joining forces in the digital era, libraries and

publishers have been fighting a battle sometimes described by librarians as the fight

between Good and Evil [29]. Frequently at issue is the fact that libraries aim to address

community needs on the basis of sharing, borrowing and recycling – facilities

traditionally offered to patrons on a non-paying basis. Publishers' transaction models for

e-books accommodate the concept of controlled sharing only with considerable difficulty

[30]. Libraries must also cater to diverse stakeholders. Students welcome the additional

features e-texts offer. They want and expect uninhibited access to information in multiple

formats where and when they require it. Academics and researchers place far greater

priority on the quality of content [21]. Archivists are concerned that the move to e-

resources leaves unanswered questions about preservation issues and continuity of access

over time.

A Plethora of Standards and Devices: Despite attempts by the Open E-book Forum

(now The International Digital Publishing Forum)5 to provide general access to electronic

content, a wide variety of proprietary standards still exist rendering most e-books

compatible only with certain devices. The lack of an agreed standard implies that an

'agreeable machine' to deliver books to a mass audience has not yet arrived on the scene

[31].

Content: Low levels of currency and relevance to reader requirements and the time-

lag between printed and electronic versions of texts have presented serious drawbacks to

the spread of e-books, particularly in research collections.

Authentication: Products developed by providers and distributors are often not

geared to procedures that libraries use for controlling access to e-resources. Agents

offering competitive 'deals', cast librarians in the unfamiliar and time-consuming role of

negotiating terms, generating increased work loads for librarians.

Work flows: Collection managers find that making monthly new selections can

generate considerable additional work for some of the library staff [32]. Payment methods

can also be comparatively cumbersome and a disincentive for uptake: 'For e-books to

succeed, selecting and purchasing them needs to be as easy as ordering and buying from

the campus bookstore' [32].

Budgetary pressures: Research resources are provided or supported by major

national institutions and organisations, and by many local bodies including universities,

libraries and archive offices. These bodies are all experiencing funding pressures, and

challenges in balancing electronic and non-electronic resource provision [33].

Although the e-book delivery value chain as it currently exists has been described as

'ad hoc and fragmented, lacking in leadership and coordinated strategy' [33], some signs

of progress do exist. Major publishers have now come to the realisation that they cannot

afford not to have a fully developed e-book strategy [31]. Google's commitment to an e-

book scanning project in partnership with leading universities in the USA and the UK

represents a major push to address the dearth of quality material on the Web. These

developments have accelerated adaptations in publishers' business models and supply

chains to facilitate e-book uptake [34]. Market forces would therefore appear to favour

5 The Open E-Book Forum International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) can be accessed at

http://www.idpf.org/

8

digital delivery of information to libraries. There are also indications that barriers to the

free flow of information and the costs these barriers represent to publicly-funded research

may result in policy and legislative moves which will further advance diffusion of e-book

technology (for UK see [35]; for Australia see [36]).

One of the most significant social changes the World Wide Web has brought about

has been the power it has provided to individuals. The illicit sharing of music over peer-

to-peer networks, which has enraged the hugely powerful global music 'labels' almost to

the point of legal frenzy, are an instance of this new power. 'Social networking' sites to

enable private (and business-related) personal networks, as well as the rapid growth of

blogs which allow individuals to share their views on everything from business to their

neighbors' pets (see, for example, [37]), extend this individual contact still further. It is

hardly surprising, then, that users should wish to publish their own videos on the web, for

sharing with their friends or for open access to the public – and YouTube , founded in

February 2005, is a popular free web site which lets users upload, view, and share video

clips [38]. This move to individual empowerment through the Web has also had an impact

on the publishing industry.

The most popular form of the e-book today is as an Internet service, rather than a

physical device. If the Internet is considered a giant library, storing all types of

information, then websites are the individual books and magazines in all their varying

sizes and content [39]. Nowadays, with easy access to e-book compiler software, an open

web site is available to allow everyone to publish their own e-books. E-book web sites

have the potential to significantly affect libraries – although this is less likely in the case

of academic libraries, where readers must be sure of the provenance of their information.

Amazon is leveraging its technological capability to offer a variety of new services. One

of these allows readers to lend books stored in their own digital libraries to their friends.

Compared to lending paper-based books to people who may return the books to you with

dog-eared pages, lending an e-book would appear to offer a number of advantages [40].

In his Long Tail concept, Anderson [41] argued that products in low demand or with

low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the

relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is

large enough. Examples of such mega-stores include the online retailer Amazon.com and

the online video rental service Netflix. Libraries have limitations on space and budgets, so

that many low-demand paper-based books are not available. The cost of supplying e-

books, however, is not nearly so great. Coupled with a larger distribution channel, this

lower cost allows readers to access less popular books, providing readers with greater

choice – and giving libraries a new lease of life in the digital age.

5. Future Research

We suggest that future directions for research into e-books may fall into three major

categories: technology, content and business models.

In the technological area, research can be carried out on improving e-book readers, e-

book compiler software or other digital devices such as PDA-phones, likely to be the

device of choice for reading e-books in the future. However, these portable devices should

meet several key criteria. Screens should be large enough to display video and text (e.g.

10 words per line and 300 words per screen). They should also be capable of running on a

number of different operating systems [42] and platforms. Most important of all is that

mobile networks must be able to provide sufficient geographic coverage to enable easy

downloading; and that charges must be reasonable and affordable.

9

In the content area, identifying types of content suitable for use with e-book

technology has considerable potential for further investigation. Wilson and Landon [43]

developed a methodology for evaluating electronic textbooks in 2001. Based on this

framework, Wilson [44] tested the performance of e-book readers at the University of

Strathclyde and surveyed the type(s) of material best suited for a digital environment.

Anuradha and Usha [45] undertook a survey of e-books within the Indian academic

environment. The responses indicated that students tend to use e-book technology more

often than faculty members and staff. Those who did use e-books mostly used reference

and technical materials. This research, while interesting and useful, has the potential to be

more widely extended – by geographic region, by culture, or in terms of the sorts of

academic environment existing in particular countries. University libraries are by no

means uniform in their acceptance of and approach to technology; and further research

into e-book technology uptake, acceptance and usage patterns has the potential to offer

rich insights into the long-term viability of e-books within an academic environment.

Finally, although this paper has discussed potential e-book theoretical business

models, there is considerable room for further research in this area. Today's e-publishing

and e-book business models are still in their infancy, with companies experimenting to

identify strategies likely to confer a long-term competitive advantage. Research into e-

book business models, particularly those taking an e-business perspective or focusing on

stakeholder analysis, may well provide a broader basis for reliable prediction – and are

additional to the material on e-book business models discussed in Section 3 of this paper.

6. Conclusion

This paper has provided a necessarily somewhat superficial discussion of the history

of the e-book and its uptake by and likely attraction for academic libraries. The material

covers a somewhat motley collection of academic and industry sources – but we believe

that, despite its 'patchwork' nature, this paper provides a useful jumping-off point for

future research into the important topic of electronic information provision within

academic libraries. The now widely accepted move from physical serials provision to

electronic journal access is, we suspect, likely to be merely the first stage in a longer

move away from physical provision of academic material. It seems likely that this move

will apply across all types of information provision, but academic libraries – with their

need for huge volumes of rapidly-changing material – are likely to be most vitally

affected.

The paper, having surveyed the history of e-books, the ways in which they are being

adopted by users and libraries both public and academic; and the business models which

are evolving for e-book publishing and distribution, extrapolates that material to the issues

being faced by academic libraries, many of which are already thinking carefully about

how to ensure their survival in the 21st century. Although digital formats such as music,

movies and newspapers have been thoroughly researched for some years now, research

into the impact of digital publishing and e-books for online libraries is still in its infancy.

The present paper attempts to identify a number of major issues and likely future trends,

upon which further research activities can be based.

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w

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  • Nuria Lloret Romero Nuria Lloret Romero

Purpose – The addition of digital formats such as specialised magazines and e‐books to libraries has led to a dramatic change in management format with respect to those involved in the reading process: users, publishers, distributors, booksellers, and authors; and in turn, the way in which libraries are planned and managed. This article aims to focus on these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the implementation of e‐books and the relevant literature on the implementation of electronic books, not only in the library field but in other sectors. The article uses various sources to offer conclusions on the interest not only economic but also to improve the quality of service offered by its implementation in libraries or centers of documentation. Findings – Not only is there space‐saving in libraries but also a new manner in which to consume information that libraries must adapt to as soon as possible given the increasing demands of users in this connection. All of the previous has given rise to changes in the economic management of libraries. Originality/value – These changes must be assessed before making a decision regarding the purchase of e‐book collections and their subsequent organization and management, which indirectly change many of the tasks currently carried out by library staff members, thereby optimizing times and processes for the benefit of increased visibility of the electronic collection.

Abstract EBONI (Electronic Books ON - screen Interface) [1] builds on the premise to emerge from the Visual Book [2] and WEB Book projects [3], that appearance is important in the design of electronic textbooks, and offers an evaluation model, or general methodology, from which ebook usability experiments in a range of areas can be extracted and remain comparable at a basic level The methodology sets out options for selecting material, participants, tasks and techniques, which vary in cost and level of sophistication Results from each study will feed into a set of best practice guidelines for producing electronic textbooks on the Web, reflecting the requirements of students and academics throughout the UK

  • K.T. Anuradha K.T. Anuradha
  • H. S. Usha

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the use and usability of e-books from the perspectives of users in an academic and research environment. Design/methodology/approach – This study involved an e-mail questionnaire to survey researchers in the academic and research environment of the Indian Institute of Science regarding their use of e-books. Findings – The responses indicated that the students tend to use this new technology more often than faculty members and staff. Those who did use e-books mostly used reference and technical material. The highest response was from the Centre for Ecological Science, followed by the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre, and then the Department of Molecular Reproduction and Development and Genetics. The majority of the respondents have used computers for over five years for a variety of purposes including e-mail communication, internet browsing and text processing as well as for other advanced uses such as numerical computing and DNA sequence analysis. However, the use of e-books appears to be very low, indicating a requirement for creating awareness and user education about both software and hardware related to e-books. Only 37 of the 104 respondents had used the free trial offer from Kluwer and Edutech eBooks during July 2004. Originality/value – There has been no previous study reported which has investigated users' perspectives of e-books in an academic and research environment in India using a questionnaire method.

  • Subba Rao Siriginidi Subba Rao Siriginidi

This paper provides background information on e-books, and outlines their implementations, advantages and disadvantages. Details are given of the e-book technologies of hardware and software with tables comparing the features of various products on the market. The role of e-books in education in general is outlined. The specific case of India is described in more depth with details of initiatives for utilising e-books for a national literacy mission. The paper concludes that, at present, viewing technology is a limiting factor but that in future content will become paramount.

  • Subba Rao Siriginidi Subba Rao Siriginidi

This paper discusses the genesis of e-books and derives a comprehensive definition from various definitions reported for them. It lists the various types of e-books with their characteristics and the major players in the market. It also highlights the pros and cons of e-books, and compares select e-book reader hardware and software with their specifications, requirements and characteristics. The impact of e-books on the publishing industry, on libraries and librarians, and digital rights management is discussed. The author concludes that e-books are rapidly becoming a viable alternative and provide growing advantages over the traditional medium.

  • Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson

Ebook readers have received a mixed press, with some hailing them as the future of reading and others believing that they will never be popular. The study outlined here aims to understand the attitudes of, and issues of importance to, lecturers in UK academia, with a view to improving the design of ebook readers for education in the future. An evaluation of five portable devices is presented, in which lecturers were given the opportunity to read an ebook and provide feedback via a questionnaire. Results are compared with concerns arising from other experiments in the same field, and recommendations are made for successful ebook design.

The potential for distance learning students to use e-books is explored. E-books are gaining wider interest since the introduction of portable electronic reading devices and software-based readers that provide users with more realistic book reading experiences. The paper discusses where to acquire e-book technology, and how to create e-books. It also reports an evaluation to test the usability of different types of e-book compiler software. By using one of the compilers, the use of e-books to improve the interaction between educators and distance learning students in terms of access to teaching and learning materials and submission of assignments is also demonstrated.

  • Ben Shneiderman

Abstract Handwritten codexes or printed books transformed society by allowing users to preserve and transmit information Today, leather - bound volumes and illuminated manuscripts are giving way to animated image maps and hot links Vannevar Bush's memex has inspired the World Wide Web, which provides users with vast information resources and convenient communications In looking to the future, we might again transform society by building genexes -- generators of excellence Such inspirational environments would empower personal and collaborative creativity by enabling users to: