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Under the patronage of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the State
Secretary for Disabled Persons and Inclusion
Avec le parrainage du ministère de la Culture et de la Communication et du Secrétariat
d'Etat chargé des Personnes handicapées et de la Lutte contre l'exclusion
IFLA’s WLIC 2014 Satellite Conference
Conférence satellite IFLA LPD - IFLA WLIC 2014
eBooks for everyone!
An opportunity for more inclusive libraries
Des livres numériques accessibles !
Une chance pour des bibliothèques accessibles à tous les
publics
22-23 August 2014
Université Pierre et Marie Curie
Paris
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Daisy Online Delivery Protocol Makes eBooks
Accessible in Flemish Public Libraries
B. Paepen, Co-founder, Pyxima and J. Delaure, Program Manager, Bibnet
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Short abstract— In May 2014, Flanders launched an
eBook lending service for 215 public libraries. The service
has made an initial collection of 400 eBooks available for
viewing on tablets and smartphones by up to one million
library members. By using the Daisy Online Delivery
Protocol, the eBook collection can also be made
accessible to print-impaired people in a design for all
philosophy.
INTRODUCTION
This paper discusses the challenges and solutions this
project has experienced in setting up business models with
publishers, in handling Digital Rights Management (DRM)
protection and in achieving access for all. During the
presentation we will also give a hands-on demonstration of
what the reading application looks like and how users perceive
it after four months of operational service.
I. LIBRARIES IN A DIGITAL ERA
Libraries in all countries are struggling with the question of
what role existing libraries should play in a digital era. As long
as books are physical objects, the library stands tall as a
building for preserving and accessing these important cultural
artefacts.
However, as soon as books became digital objects, readily
accessible on computers and handheld devices, the role of the
same library is questioned. “When Google already indexes all
of the world’s writings, why do you still need a public library?”
one might ask.
This project started from the proposition that in a digital era
libraries have an equally important role in providing access to
culture to all citizens. Firstly, access needs to be a low-barrier
in economic terms. Secondly, access needs to be provided on
devices that many users already have with an intuitive
interface. Thirdly, the library has a role in promoting e-reading
and helping readers with their first e-reading experiences.
Finally, by their very nature, digital books can be rendered in
such a way that they become equally available to persons with
Bert Paepen is Co-founder at Pyxima, Tessenderlo, Belgium (e-mail:
bert.paepen@pyxima.com). Johan Delaure is Program Manager at Bibnet,
Brussels, Belgium (e-mail: johan.delaure@bibnet.be).
a reading impairment. New published eBooks can become
immediately available in large font or with text-to-speech
functionality at a marginal cost.
Without a publicly funded eBook library service, there is a
good chance that these requirements will never be met. As a
consequence, many will have no access to eBooks, thus
widening the digital divide.
II. REQUIREMENTS FOR STAKEHOLDERS
When setting up an eBook lending service, many
stakeholders are involved, each with potentially conflicting
expectations.
Readers expect low-barrier access to library eBooks, i.e. for
free. Moreover, it should be possible to borrow eBooks
anywhere at any time: from home, when on holiday, etc. All
books should be immediately available at all times without
having to place holds. Books need to be accessible even when
the device on which they are read is offline.
Where people can dream of unlimited immediate access to
eBooks, library institutions consider it their public mission to
ensure low-barrier access to information and culture.
However, when all eBooks are available for free at all times,
the basis for the current remuneration model for rights holders
is annihilated.
The public library’s mission is not merely to lend books but
above all to help people to find their way in the informational
and cultural offering of the community. This role has to be
reinvented in respect of the digital offering of literature and
information.
Book publishers, experiencing a decline in paper book sales,
can see libraries as an additional distribution channel for
eBooks. At the same time they want to avoid libraries
becoming competitors to their own commercial eBook services.
III. BUSINESS MODEL
A key success factor for this project was to find a suitable
business model that reconciles these conflicting requirements.
In many countries eBook lending models have been set up
with rules to make digital access resemble paper book lending.
Examples include the one copy one user model and limiting
usage per book by ‘aging’ books after a certain number of
loans. These models try to reconcile free access with the old
remuneration concept of book sales. However, they abnegate
the nature of digital access and limit user experience in a way
that is unacceptable for an electronic product.
In other countries we see models where lending eBooks is
free of charge for end users and local governments pay
publishers in bulk or per loan. In the known cases these
experiments are stopped because it leads to untenable
government expenditure and/or market distortion. Also,
publishers in Flanders refused free lending as it would raise
public expectation that eBooks should be available for free.
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After months of negotiation, six of the largest publishers in
Flanders agreed to set up a one year pilot period with a limited
number of their eBooks in a model that combines free access
and paid lending.
Within the physical library walls, everyone has unlimited free
access to all eBooks in the catalogue. Outside, free access is
limited to samples. To get full access outside of the library,
library members can borrow eBooks in a 3 for 5 (345) model:
you can borrow 3 eBooks for 4 weeks each at a cost of 5 euros
(so, €1.66 per loan).
Lending and actual reading are managed and controlled in
an “app” that protects the content against copying and ensures
that the eBook becomes unavailable after 4 weeks.
For local libraries the service is an opt-in that comes with a
subscription fee that is an initial flat startup fee combined with
the pricing for a minimal number of loans calculated in relation
to the area that the library serves. There is no maximum limit
on loans: once the minimal number of loans is ‘consumed’
libraries can continue lending. The incurred costs for these
extra loans are at the same rate as the rate that the library has
to impose on the end-user.
Publishers receive a base fee for each book they make
available to the lending catalogue, they receive a nonrefundable fee for a minimal number of loans imposed and
they receive a fee for each additional loan. The more loans,
the more they earn.
IV. ACCESS FOR ALL ARCHITECTURE
End users get access to eBooks (ePUB format) via
computer, tablet or smartphone. Through the website, users
can explore the eBook catalogue from home and consult
samples. Within the library walls users have full unlimited
access to all eBooks.
To get full access outside the library one has to borrow the
eBook. Lending is only possible on Android and Apple tablets
or smartphones with an app that is developed by Pyxima
against their Daisy Online Delivery Server. Through the safe
environment of the app it is possible to allow users to read the
borrowed eBooks even offline.
For Bibnet it was important that the interaction with end user
was implemented through the Daisy Online Delivery Protocol
(DODP), for a number of reasons:
1. Systematizing the process flow without having to
“reinvent the wheel”.
2. Adding future services such as wish lists and
multiple bookmarks without redesigning the process
flow.
3. The fully documented DODP provides transparency
to right holders on the processing between app and
server.
4. Inheriting security conditions that are a native part of
DODP and reusing know-how on reporting,
optimization, etc.
5. Making the service also accessible to DAISY
players.
6. Providing a cost effective perspective on migrating to
EPUB3 and adding generic text–to-speech support.
7. It allowed us to focus on the visual attractiveness of
the app and the e-reading experience.
Fig. 1 depicts the system architecture, which is largely based
on the Online Daisy audio book distribution system.
repository
repository
distribution
server
distribution
server
watermarks
watermarks
Fig. 1 eBook distribution architecture
The system fully supports cross-device reading by storing the
last reading position on the server. People could start reading
an eBook on a tablet and continue listening via computer voice
on their smartphone.
Readium is used as the main component for e-reading, both
in the apps and on the website.
App security, combined with digital watermarking and
restricted reading periods, ensure correct DRM protection.
Access to the reader’s personal bookshelf is password
protected in an OAUTH based identification system. “Intra
muros” reading with full access within the library walls is
reinforced by using Wi-Fi localization.
CONCLUSION
“E-boeken in de bib” is the first app in the institutional
environment of the Flemish government that provides a core
public service.
The first success of the project is that it brought all
stakeholders, from publishers to librarians, together on
agreeing on a single business model. The strength of this
model is that it combines free eBooks within the library with
low-barrier access outside the library and at the same time
financially encourages rights holders with a cost per use.
At the time of writing it is too early to fully assess the public
adoption of this new eBook lending service in a region where
at the beginning of 2014 the eBook occupied nearly 2 % of the
entire book reading market.
At the end of 2014 we will start evaluating the offering, the
usage numbers, the strengths and the weaknesses, in order to
decide whether to continue after April 2015.
REFERENCES
[1] E-book lending service: http://e-boeken.bibliotheek.be
[2] Online Daisy: http://www.online-daisy.com
[3] Pyxima: http://www.pyxima.com
[4] Bibnet: http://www.bibnet.be
BIOGRAPHIES
B. Paepen obtained masters degree in
communications and ICT at Leuven
University in 1997 and 1999.
He first worked as a software developer
at Philips and was a researcher at Leuven
University, after which he co-founded the
spin-off company Pyxima in 2009. Pyxima
is a Belgian software company specialized
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in making eBooks and audiobooks accessible for reading
impaired persons.
Pyxima www.pyxima.com developed the Flemish audio
newspaper and the Online Daisy platform, www.onlinedaisy.com.
J. Delaure is Program Manager at Bibnet
(Agency for Digital Library in Flanders)
www.bibnet.be.
During the first 15 years of his career
Johan worked as a Project Manager for
the development and implementation of
library management systems. He has
been working at Bibnet, a Flemish government subsidiary, for
13 years, where he is responsible for optimizing and
developing the central IT infrastructure to facilitate public
libraries.
Le protocole "Daisy Online Delivery Protocol" permet
l'accès de tous à des livres des bibliothèques publiques
flamandes
En mai 2014, la Flandre a lancé un service de prêt de livre
électronique pour 215 bibliothèques publiques. Le service a
proposé une première collection de 400 livres numériques
disponibles à un million de membres de la bibliothèque, pour
l'affichage sur tablettes et smartphones. En utilisant le
protocole Daisy Online, la collection de livres électroniques
peut également être rendue accessible aux personnes
empêchées de lire dans une philosophie de conception pour
tous.
Biographies
Bert Paepen est fondateur de Pyxima, une société belge de
logiciels, spécialisée dans la fabrication de livres numériques
et de livres audio accessibles (www.pyxima.com). Pyxima a
développé le journal audio flamand et supporte la plate-forme
en ligne Daisy, www.online-daisy.com.
Johan Delaure est responsable de programme à Bibnet
(Agence pour la bibliothèque numérique de Flandre)
www.bibnet.be. Durant les 15 premières années de sa
carrière Johan a travaillé comme chef de projet pour le
développement et la mise en œuvre de systèmes de gestion
de bibliothèque. Depuis maintenant 13 ans, il travaille à
Bibnet, une filiale du gouvernement flamand, pour optimiser et
développer l'infrastructure centrale informatique facilitant les
bibliothèques publiques.