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Digital Library Coordination Committee

eBooks & eBook Readers:
An early survey
Discussion Paper prepared for the Digital Library Co-ordination Committee

by Alex McCulloch
June 29, 2001

eBooks

Introduction

Q: "What is an electronic book (eBook)?"
 A: Different people define this term differently. For some, an eBook is the content you read (a "paperless" digital version of a book, article or other document). The Open eBook Specification defines this as the OEB Publication. For others, an eBook is what you read on, such as a personal computer, either desktop or portable, a palm size computer, or a dedicated eBook
reader designed for viewing and reading electronic books. The Open eBook Specification defines this as the Reading Device."

(from Open eBook Publication Structure Specification 1.0: Frequently Asked Questions)

Another, possibly more helpful, way of categorizing eBooks is the following:

  1. digital books packaged into specialized eBook software, (called eBOOK, in this paper)
  2. digital books and text accessible without eBook software, (called eTEXT, in this paper)
  3. an expanded concept of the digital book that integrates other technology, such as video and audio and web links to supporting documents, and that comes bundled with other services and therefore depends upon a service provider, such as netLibrary's MetaText,
  4. similar to number 3, but without the extra services or the need for a service provider (see Appendix).

At this stage, this paper focuses on the first category, and the differences between the first and second categories. The second category could be said to already exist within the UW Library through it's E-Text links to websites providing free or subscribed access to material (most of these websites also provide 'category 1' versions of the same items). Formats for these types are PDF, ZIP, HTML, RTF and so on. The IEEE Electronic library, for example, presents all material in PDF format.

Widespread acceptance of eBooks in the first two categories is still very much in doubt, in spite of increasing momentum in this direction on the part of publishers and developers. Categories three and four, which add significant value beyond mere digital reading, could be the real future of eBooks.

Details

Both the software for viewing the eBOOK (Microsoft Reader, Adobe eBook, AportisDoc, netLibrary eBook Reader, etc.), and/or the software within the eBOOK itself, prevents or limits the printing, saving or sharing of the contents of the book, through the use of what is called Digital Rights Management technology (DRM). For example, netLibrary books can only be printed by first highlighting the text, and can only be saved by copying and pasting text into another format, such as MS Word. Some publishers allow a certain number of pages to be copied before the user is blocked. eTEXT, on the other hand, contain no restrictions on copying or forwarding to others once access has been obtained.

Several (most?) sites offer material in formats that fall into both categories, for example, the Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts offers books in PDF, Newton Paperback, PalmPilot, or Rocket eBook. Other formats include HTML, Pocket, REB, RTF, PDF (for eBooks) , LIT (Microsoft Reader), eBookman, SoftBook.

The specialized eBOOK software enables the following:

In addition, (in some cases anyway) the vendor maintains a record of eBOOKS that have been purchased, in case the user loses their copy or their reading device. The user can get another copy without charge.

eTEXT, on the other hand, usually allows searching capability, but does not come with the other features.

An advantage to the eBOOK, in addition to 24/7 availability, is that the price is usually lower than the paper version.

There are conflicting views on the acceptance of the eBOOK and eTEXT. To date there have been 3 million downloads on 1,600 titles in the classics from U. of Virginia since August 2000. However, a number of libraries with netLibrary (University of California at Berkeley, the statewide university system in Georgia) report very low circulations, and one author reported that 1 sale of his eBook from Amazon.com was enough to move him into the Top Ten Bestseller list. Anecdotally, some students at UW are already reading eBOOKs, including on resolution-poor Palm Pilots (science-fiction, usually)

Cons are:

 eBook Readers and PDAs

New devices are regularly coming onstream. However, there are still problems with use of portable devices, especially with price, screen resolutions, and proprietary formats. Other problems involve the amount of memory, the speed of downloads, the longevity of batteries, etc. Most industry observers predict that the technical problems will be resolved within 3 - 5 years or sooner.

Pros are:

Cons:

What conclusions can be drawn?

Some Explorations in the Use of eBooks and eBook Readers

  • University of Phoenix "Bookless College" - goal is 60-80% of classes to be bookless by spring 2002
  • Adobe eBook U (U. of Wisconsin, et al.) – collecting student feedback

Suggestions for Follow-Up

  Appendix

The American Council of Learned Societies - History E-Book Project www.historyebook.org

The History E-Book Project does not aim to subordinate the historian's work to computer formats and delivery systems, but rather to achieve the opposite: to harness technology in the interests of the historian's craft. It places its prime emphasis upon the highest quality, the most thorough, and the most painstaking research, allowing the historian to employ both analytical and interpretive skills upon a large body of documents, defined in the broadest possible terms (whether archival, textual, ephemeral, visual, even sound). The aim of this project is to harness technology's ability to provide scholars with new and innovative ways of using and presenting historical material and research and of creating cogent and compelling works of history writing.

Because we seek to emphasize the centrality of serious historical research and writing, the History E-Book Project will differ from many electronic projects already underway. While we share the desire to present and disseminate primary-source materials, this is not an archival project, nor one that seeks to create databases of primary-source materials. Rather the typical title in this project will be one in which the historian, having identified, gathered, and analyzed a large corpus of primary-source materials, seeks to structure these within an interpretive and narrative framework consistent with the basic purpose of professional history writing: to publish for the benefit of professional historians, students and informed general readers the results of primary research and analysis and to make these available for examination, evaluation, replication, and further discussion by other members of the historical profession. One of the goals of the History E-Book Project is that these latter functions of reception and review will also be carried out electronically.

What types of titles are most appropriate for the ACLS list? The historian could consider any treatment of a historical topic, applying any organizational approach - from the traditional interpretive text with footnotes, bibliography, and other hyperlinked apparatus to more innovative formats of interactive electronic projects, including hyperlinked images, charts, maps, slide shows, and in rare cases other materials, such as video and extended sound recording. The challenge is to include these in ways that go beyond the merely illustrative and include varying degrees of reader access to wider and deeper sources of information. These capabilities put at the disposal of the author unprecedented possibilities for conveying the rich variety of the historical periods, forces, and personalities under study that the print format can only hint at. Because this project does not encourage the simple digitization of the traditional print monograph, the criteria for the author's selection of electronic formats must be closely related to the nature of his or her project and not simply introduce "bells and whistles" to an otherwise traditional approach merely for the sake of moving a project into electronic form.

In general these projects, even at their most simple level, should exceed the capabilities of print publications. They will be searchable and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They could contain a far larger number of illustrations, in color or black-and-white; and could include supporting documents that can range from the dozens to the thousands. The interface used by the ACLS History E-Book Project will allow the reader to follow the author's argument and narrative on one level but then could also allow direct access to a broad array of documentary sources including complete digital archives, at the click of a button.

The History E-Book Project also encourages historians to approach their topics and materials in new and innovative ways that might reconceive, and even challenge, the traditional relationship between primary sources, secondary material, and the constructed narrative and interpretation, as well as the ways in which these are weighted and presented. Though electronic collections of primary source materials might better be published through other projects, the History E-Book Project encourages the creation of electronic works that build upon and explore such already-existing digital archives. A title that allowed the reader to call up and study full-length source materials directly alongside the author's narrative can add substantial value to a work of history. Similarly, the presentation of visual materials - including the wide range from the fine arts through cartography, statistical charts and tables - could form the core of the author's approach and become the focal point from which the historian organizes his or her narrative and interpretation.

1 Brad Templeton. Chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation.
2 Clifford Lynch, "The Battle to Define the Future of the Book in the Digital World" http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/current_issue/
lynch/index.html

March 23, 2006