e-b ooks and e-t extbooks possibilities and pitfalls of academic digital monographs focus on...
TRANSCRIPT
E-BOOKS AND E-TEXTBOOKS
Possibilities and pitfalls of academic digital monographs
Focus on Teaching and Learning
Loyola University ChicagoSpring 2012
Tara Radniecki&
Niamh McGuigan
E-BOOKS
Sales worldwide in 2011: $3.2 billion
Predicted up to 50% of all books sold in the US will be e-books by 2014
Sales worldwide predicted at $9.7 billion by 2016
2011 Horizon Report name e-books as an emerging technology poised to enter mainstream higher education within the year.
HISTORY OF THE E-BOOK
1971: Project GutenbergInternet as a syndication tool100th e-book in 1994Over 36,000 titles today
1987: Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University)
1990: Library of Congress begins American Memory Project
1991: First CERN web servers go online
HISTORY OF THE E-BOOK
1996: Internet Archive2,355,344 items in text collection (as of 1/11/12)
1998: NetLibrary is the first commercial publisher
2004: Google Book Project
2011: Amazon sells more e-books than print
PRINT: ADVANTAGES
Print is easy to use: No power or Internet connection required
Nothing can break, crash, shut down, become unresponsive
No need for accounts or passwords
People don’t need to be taught how to use books
PRINT: ADVANTAGES
Clear ownership rights: When you own a book, you can do what you
want with that book. Lend it to someone else, write in it, carry it
around, use it whenever you want.
Preservation: Books are durable Books are easy to store
PRINT: ADVANTAGES
Reading Experience:
Research indicates that print formats may promote a higher quality reading experience
Books allow physical interaction - note taking, bookmarking, flipping back and forth
PRINT: DISADVANTAGES
Preservation: Despite being durable, books do get worn,
damaged, written in Books take up a lot of space
Limited format options: Books only contain material that can be
printed on a page
PRINT: DISADVANTAGES
Access: One reader at a time Time needed for libraries to order and
process books Time needed for patrons to retrieve a book
from the stacks
Portability: Books are heavy!
E-BOOK: ADVANTAGES
Access: Multiple users (in most cases)
Quick or immediate purchasing and processing for libraries
Quick or Immediate access for patrons
E-BOOK: ADVANTAGES
Portability: There’s no need to carry an e-book around
with you In most cases, an e-book can be accessed
from any computer and from different types of devices.
In many cases, e-books can be loaded onto a portable device and used without an Internet connection.
E-BOOK: ADVANTAGES
Reading Experience: Searchable Format allows inclusion of content in multiple
media Potential for more interactivity Format allows linking to other resource
E-BOOK: DISADVANTAGES
Not always easy to use: Requires a device of some sort - computer,
tablet, e-reader, etc Requires Internet access Requires a lot of administration in the form of
accounts, passwords, proxy access Concerns about e-books and the visually
impaired “Digital Divide”
E-BOOK: DISADVANTAGES
Ownership isn’t so clear: Restrictions on how e-books can be used Limits on the number of users or the number
of uses Limits on the ability to print, copy, or
download Restrictions on what type of patron can use
the book
E-BOOK: DISADVANTAGES
Preservation:
Libraries face many unknowns in preserving e-books
Will archived e-book files always be usable?
E-BOOK: DISADVANTAGES
Reading Experience: Screen reading may not match print reading
experience Many users, including students, prefer long
form reading in printCost: In the library world, e-books usually cost
more than print books E-books can also come with hidden
administrative costs
ACADEMIC E-BOOKS
Content type varies: Reference to fiction to serials to anthologies to technical manuals and more.
Loyola ended FY2011 with over 350,000 e-books Continues to grow with patron driven acquisition
and subject specialist collection development
E-books @ Loyola University Libraries E-books Subject Guide
SCHOLARLY E-BOOKS: POSSIBILITIES FOR THE FUTURE
University presses are exploring new models:
Institutionally supported open access publishing
Free online/pay for print Digital Culture at University of Michigan
University Press e-books consortiaProject Muse and JSTOR
SCHOLARLY E-BOOKS: POSSIBILITIES FOR THE FUTURE
E-book creators exploring new formats and content:
Woolf Online Mark Twain Project Online Rotunda from UVA Press Butterflies and Moths of North America
TEXTBOOKS: CHARACTERISTICS
Content Dense, complex ideas A small slice of a much larger topic/discipline Images: tables, illustrations, etc
Format Chapters & Sections: digestible portions Indexes: Allows for quick reference work Built-in Study Aids: summaries, quizzes, further
readings
ALL IMPORTANT FORMAT
With other e-books, consumers are generally most concerned with getting the same content as the print counterpart.
With textbooks, the format is just as important. Structure is need to create a desirable learning experience.
PRINT TEXTBOOKS: ADVANTAGES
No power or internet required Physical Interaction
Bookmarking Highlighting Making notes Flipping back and forth
Research says print may support a higher quality reading experience Students often report they do not retain the
information as easily reading from a screen.
PRINT TEXTBOOKS: DISADVANTAGES
Lengthy publication schedule for textbooks Inevitably include outdated information
Passive medium for transmitting information, requires no active role on the part of the student
Limited by their physical form. Large, heavy, no multimedia. (O’Shea, Onderdonk, D. Allen, D.W. Allen, 2011)
Expensive Average student spends $1168 on course materials
this year (collegeboard.com)
With the disadvantages to print textbooks, publishers have long tried to utilize
technology to make a better digital version.
WHERE ARE WE & HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Experimentation: 2000-2003 Textbook publishers created non-PDF, non-
standard, custom-reader products No market and technology could not support
them
Early Markets: 2004-2006 Many publishers returned to PDF format Flash became a predominant technology
WHERE ARE WE & HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Proliferation & Integration: 2007-2008 Cost of e-textbook production drops Major publishers support multiple formats &
readers XML becomes more prominent
Profitability & Social Learning: 2009-2011 For-profit virtual universities (e.g., U of Phoenix)
drive e-textbooks’ growth Widespread adoption of mobile devices E-textbooks begin to offer multimedia features
and integration within social learning networks.
WHERE ARE WE & HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Standards & Disaggregated Distribution: 2012-2014
Emergence of a common standard textbook XML Move from a single book to collection of malleable
content assets which can be mashed up with other digital products
Greater focus on design for smartphone and tablet use Open textbooks More integration of social features
(Rob Reynolds, http://blog.xplana.com/2010/09/the-five-waves-of-e-textbooks-in-the-u-s-200-2014/)
E-TEXTBOOKS: THE FUTURE
Must incorporate dynamic and interactive features
Social reading features (like Subtext or Readmill)
Tools to highlight, take & share notes, discussion forums
Embedded links to outside resources, such as pre-defined searches in library databases
E-TEXTBOOKS: THE FUTURE
Fully customizable in content and format without publisher constraints
Integration with online CMS
E-textbooks will be less like books and more like e-learning environments.
They won’t be cheap. E-textbooks save many students only $1
(chronicle.com)
E-TEXTBOOK OPTIONS
LOYOLA’S E-TEXTBOOKS
CourseSmart
Major textbook publishers, including Pearson,McGraw-Hill, and John Wiley & Sons launched CourseSmart in 2007
More than 20,000 digital titles
Available from University Bookstore
Rental options only
COURSESMART FEATURES
Offline reading (currently in beta)
Note taking and highlighting ability Search features Print 10 pages at a time Send information from text to classmates App
Cost About half the price of a new hardcover
OPEN MODEL
Aims to bring students free, or inexpensive, e-textbooks by using or creating open-access educational materials
OPEN MODEL
Washington State: Open Course Library
Funded by Washington state legislation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Faculty course designers selected through bid process
Resources for 42 courses
Students pay no more than $30
OPEN MODEL
University of Massachusetts at Amherst: Open Education Initiative
University funded: 10 faculty grants
Created and used freely accessible materials
Worked closely with Library to integrate subscription online sources & create hosting platform
Estimated to save 700 students $72,000 in 2011-2012
OPEN MODEL
Flatworld Knowledge Company recruits scholars to build peer-reviewed
texts
Creative Commons license allows anyone to edit and customize
Currently 3,000 instructor users
55 e-textbooks available
VENDOR LEVEL CUSTOMIZATION
AcademicPub Arranges payment of royalties and compiles
material for publication
~ E-text for $15, print for $27, hardcover for $45
2 million items of content from 75 publishers
Instructors can pull in any open web content
VENDOR LEVEL CUSTOMIZATION
McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Create Allows instructors pick and choose from the
company’s textbooks
Macmillan Publishers: DynamicBooks Allows instructors to add freely available content
to their existing e-titles
KNO Non-customizable
Rented 6 months, some can be purchased
Available on web, iPad or Facebook
Over 100,000 titles
Cost Renting: ½ the purchase price Purchase: Varies, but more expensive than
hardcover print version
KNO: FEATURES
Journal Transfer any highlights, pictures, stickies or notes from your
textbook into a digital notebook.
Pen Quiz Me
Turns any diagram in your textbook or PDFs into an instant quiz
Smart Links Maps instructional videos, images, and photos to formulas &
concepts in your book – includes Khan Academy
Kno 3D Lets you rotate, spin and zoom objects
Dropbox Integration
INKLING
Creates multimedia e-textbooks versions for the iPad
Currently 111 publications – new partnerships with Pearson and McGraw-Hill will grow
Engineers and designers work with content and education experts to reimagine existing print textbooks
INKLING FEATURES
Less Search Search text, glossary, and personal notes
Test Prep Images, audio, video Social features
Follow others using your book – see their notes & highlights, have discussions
E-books and E-Textbooks:Possibilities and pitfalls of
academic digital monographs
Questions?
Tara [email protected]/tradniecki
Niamh [email protected]