Emerging technologies: e-books
Wayne State University
Jill Calkins
Sarah LaFramboise
Kathleen Samulski
E-book Table of Contents
Definition
History
Types
E-book Readers
Modes of Viewing
Advantages
Disadvantages
Research
Impact
Classroom Uses
Links
Future of
Summary
References
Definition of E-books (Wikipedia)
An e-book is sometimes called an
electronic book.
An e-book is the electronic or digital
equivalent to a conventional printed book.
The hardware device used to read books
in digital format is called an e-book reader.
History of Ebooks
E-books began being published
Internet-only beginning in the mid-1990’s
According to Boss (2005):
Random House, Inc. began selling e-books in 1998.
Random House, Inc., HarperCollins, Adobe Acrobat E-book
Reader, Simon & Schuster, Microsoft Reader, Palm Digital
Media, and McGraw-Hill Professional eBook all saw an
increase in sales between 2001 and 2002.
E-book sales have not reached what publishers predicted
they would.
Boss (2005) indicates the reasons for lack of sales as
Lack of commitment by distributors and retailers
Unwillingness of publishers to experiment with pricing
Most widely cited reason is lack of good readers.
Types of E-books
Downloadable
– Available on the internet
– No special reading device needed
Dedicated
– Downloaded to a hardware device
Print-on-demand
– Contents are stored
– Bound copies are produced on demand using a high quality printer
Web-accessible
– Published on a Web site
– Accessed for a fee
– May purchase the books
Open
– XML based that allows text on any reader
– Devices may be PC’s, notebooks, and palmtops
Types of E-books, continued…
Free or Public domain
– Digital copies in public domain
– Free downloading, printing &
circulation
Psuedobooks
– Titles bought by libraries
– Loaned out to users
– Users can download to PC’s
Instabooks
– Books printed on demand
– Scanned pages are digitally
stored
Not quite a book
– Text that is not suitable to
publish
– Converted to PDF
– E-published & e-distributed
E-vanity
– Published by individuals
– On the Web
E-books before the Web
– Books on CD-ROM or disk
Extended books
– Published on CD-ROM or Web
– Searchable text through
hypertext, multimedia and
interactive elements
E-book ReadersHardware
Rao (2003) names the following:
Franklin eBookman
– Combines functions of a reading device, PDA & digital music player
Palm PDAs
HP Jornada
– Easier to read with Microsoft Reader’s ClearType
– MP3 Player, organizer, games
RCA REB1100 (successor to Rocket eBook) 20 Novels
– Backlit screen
– Variable font size
– Built in Webster’s Dictionary
RCA REB1200 (successor to SoftBook Reader)
– 5000-50,000 pages
– Backlit screen
– Variable font size
E-book Readers-Software
Rao (2003) lists the following:
Adobe Acrobat
Microsoft Reader
Glassbook Reader
DocAble
HTML Compilers
Rocket Librarian
Microsoft Word
Palm Pilot
Wikipedia names this software:
Plucker
– is a free e-book reader
application
– It has its own associated file
format and software to
automatically generate plucker
files from HTML files, web sites
or RSS feeds.
E-Reader (formerly Palm Digital
Media)
– published as a .pdb is a
program
– Used for viewing Palm Digital
Media electronic books.
Mobipocket
– published as a .prc
– This reader has a home page
library.
Modes to Display E-books
View on PC
Display on laptop or note-book
Display via electronic whiteboard
Display via projector
Download to PDA, pocket PC,
reader or other handheld device
Print and read in hard copy form
Features of E-books
Audio: books are read aloud to the reader
Interface: readers can highlight and take notes
on the screen
Adjustable fonts: readers can read in preferred
font and size
Multimedia capability
Low light reading
Portable
Numerous books contained in a small system
These may differ based on the e-book reader software
Advantages of E-books (Rao, 2003)
Rao (2003) lists the following advantages:
Immediate distribution potential
Cost efficient
– No paper, ink, binding, wrapping, postage, or transport
Hardware capabilities
– One e-book reader can hold many e-books
– There is potential for an e-book reader to contain entire libraries
Always in stock
Environmentally friendly—not one tree is cut down
Virtual libraries will be an asset to less developed countries
– Poor countries cannot afford books and have limited library access
Raise national literacy
– An online national library can offer free literature downloads
Benefits to authors
– Increased reading of their materials
– Controlling the rights
– Financial rewards
Advantages, continued…
Benefits to publishers
– Economical production
– Removes the “out of print” issue
– Easy circulation
Benefits to customers
– E-book features
– Portability
– Access to out of print books
– Up to date references
Benefits to libraries
– Immediate access to new books
– Cost efficiency
– Shelf space is saved
– Books are no longer lost or damaged
Disadvantages
According to Rao (2003) the following are
disadvantages of e-books:
Fragile hardware
Screen resolution
– Lower quality than printed books
– Difficult when engaging in extended reading
Limited title availability at this time
Expense of high quality readers
Lack of compatibility in e-books and e-book readers
Licensing, printing, and rights issues
Lack of bibliographic information
Research
Clyde (2005) concludes:
Some studies indicate increased reading
comprehension reading electronic format
versus print
Students may take increased time to read
Reading e-books in soft copy form may be
a learnable skill
– Once learned, increased fluency and speed
will follow
Impact of E-books
Anyone can create books
– Can distribute over the Internet
– No distribution and printing cost
Library circulation modifications
– Complications linked to checking out e-book readers
E-books have their own bestseller lists:
http://www.idpf.org/bestseller/bestsellers.htm
E-books have two annual awards:
– EPPIE Award: http://www.epicauthors.com/eppies.html
– Dream Realm Award: http://www.dream-realmawards.net/2006.html
Classroom Uses
Students create and share their
own e-books via PC, notebooks or handhelds
Display picture books while students and teachers
interact with them via electronic white boards
Students research and collaborate their findings
using handhelds, notebooks, or PCs
Class novel study using handhelds
Students download several books by one author to
PDAs for an author study
Teach early decoding skills using interactive talking
books
Classroom Uses,
continued…
Personalize e-book fonts to meet individual
learning needs
Student interface with e-book textbooks to
identify key points
Students personalize their spelling lists by
highlighting challenging words in their reading
Use e-books to identify parts of speech and
literary devices
Accessing an e-library from the classroom
Parents and students easily share copies
Lighten students load with e-books vs. text
Links to E-books
http://www.ebookmall.com/
Microsoft Reader e-books
Palm Reader e-books
Adobe Reader e-books
Mobi pocket e-books
E-book club-join for $19.95
Popular e-books
Categories, formats, bestsellers
http://www.knowbetter.com
Software, hardware and content reviews
E-book directory
Reading lists
Publisher lists
News and commentary
http://learninginhand.com/le
ssonplans.html
Lesson plans created by a graduate class
for grades 1-12 using e-books
https://www.pdaonline.org/B
TDLessons/
580 lesson plans from a consortium of
educators
Links to E-books, continued…
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au
Library collection of web books
Classic works of Literature
Philosophy, science and history
http://www.teachingebooks.com
E-books for teachers K-12
Reproducibles and worksheets
Can be downloaded immediately after ordering
http://www.childrenslibrary.org
International Children’s Digital library
Read books online for free
Puzzles, games, stories and contests about the books
Links to E-books, continued…
More free e-book websites:
http://fax.libs.uga.edu/
http://epalm.org/modules/news/index.php?sel_lang=englis
h
http://www.floodle.net/extra/ebayinfo/
http://www.pocketpcbooks.net/
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.econlib.org/
http://ebooks4all.tk/
http://manybooks.net/
http://www.asiaing.com/
Free readers:
http://www.tx2ph.com/
http://www.newtonslibrary.org/nbrdr/
The Future of E-books
Will e-books replace print text books?
Will e-books eventually replace all print
books?
Will all libraries be transformed to elibraries?
Will traditional bookstores be driven out of
business?
Will society widely accept e-books as an
acceptable alternative to print books?
The Future of Ebooks, continued…
The divide between e-books and print
books appears to be diminishing
Free e-book libraries such as Project
Gutenberg growing (Boss, 2004)
There are still questions whether this
emerging literacy will continue to emerge.
The potential for e-books is limitless
The Future of E-books,
continued…
E-books will become more widespread when:
According to Eisenbraun (n.d.)
– Standard format for e-books results in decreased cost for producers
and decreased confusion for consumers
– Secure open system to protects publisher copyright and investment
– Consumers have more rights
– Cost e-books drop
Cost Issues
According to Boss (2004)
–
–
–
–
E-book prices the same as available print versions
Libraries offer titles for free
Piracy causes inflated prices and restricted rights
Digital Rights Management (DRM) gives publishers control over
what they do with e-books such as the number of copies that can be
created
Summary
E-books are electronic equivalents to paperbound books which use
hardware and software readers to display books in digital format
There are numerous types of e-books which require one of many
available hardware or software readers
E-books offer many features and have many modes of viewing
There are advantages as well as disadvantages to using e-books
Research shows that reading comprehension is increased as well
as reading time, fluency and speed
E-books are easy to distribute, anyone can create them and libraries
can make circulation modifications
There are countless uses for e-books in the classroom
The future of e-books will depend on:
A standard format for all e-books
A secure open system
Consumer rights
Cost compared to paper bound books
References
Bogaty, Nick . (2002). eBooks by the Numbers: Open eBook Forum
Compiles Industry Growth Stats. Retrieved November 7, 2006,
from http://www.openebook.org.
Boss, Richard W. ( 2004). E-Book; An Uncertain Future. Retrieved
November 7, 2006, from http://www.ala.org.
Clyde, Laurel A. (2005). Electronic books. Teacher Librarian, 32, 4547.
E-books. (2006, November 17). In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 17, 2006, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/e-book
Eisenbruan, Michael. (n.d). Is There a Future in E-books?
Retrieved November 7, 2006, from
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~meisenbr/portfolio/literary_ebook
s.pdf
Rao, Siriginidi Subba. (2003). Electronic books: a review and
evaluation. Library Hi Tech 21(1), 85-93.
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