eBook Do they have a place on the Higher Education Bookshelf

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eBooks:
Do they have a place on the Higher Education Bookshelf?
Introduction
 Presenters
 Brett DeCarion
 Andy Petzold
 What will be covered?
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Defining eBooks
History of eBooks
Current uses
Formats
Hardware
Future of eBooks
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Opening
 Definition of an eBook
 Digital equivalent of a printed book.
 Text on Screen
 Audio Books
 eBooks usually distributed by a publisher in proprietary format
 eText is used for plain text file format
 Extra information called Metadata is included with eBooks
 Author, Title, Publisher, Copyright date
 Similar to MP3 music files
 Brief History of eBooks
 Internet-only eBook publishers founded in the mid 1990’s
 Many newcomers to eBook publishing include most major print
publishers
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History of eBooks
 Some of the first eBook publishers
 Boson Books
 Hard Shell Word Factory
 Online Originals
 Each pioneered different aspects to become commonplace
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Support for multiple formats including PDF
Higher royalty rate for the author than conventional publishers
Online presentation of free samples
Author-friendly contracts
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Some Current Uses of eBooks
 K-12 Schools (Midland, Texas School District)
 School owns eBooks (and retains licensing)
 School owns reader and loans it to students
 Aviation
 Current maps, charts, and procedures are required by law
 Procedures change often (usually every couple of months)
 Subscriptions are cheaper than replacing printed books
 Hard Cover Backup
 Buy the hard cover and receive the eBook too
 Special Accessibility Requirements
 Text-to-Speech audio
 Magnification
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Different File Types used for eBooks
 Common file types
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Plain ASCII text - .txt
Microsoft Word - .doc
Adobe eBook - .pdf
Gemstar eBook - .prc
Palm - .pdb or .prc
Hiebook - .kml
Html - .html or .htm
MobiPocket - .prc
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What can I use to read an eBook?
 Computer
 Laptop or Desktop
 Mac or PC
 Handheld
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Palm
Pocket PC
Tablet PC
iPod
 eBook readers
 Sony PRS-500
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Where are eBooks going?
 Could eBooks completely replace printed text?
 Paperless society.
 It’s not a fad.
 eBooks have been around for over a decade.
 Slow but continuing growth.
 Initial investment costs may become cheaper as
technology becomes more widespread.
 This could have an effect with educational and business areas
were multiple devices would be used.
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Examples of pricing differences
Title
Print
Amazon.com
eBook
mobipocket.com
Memoirs of a Geisha
$7.99
$6.99
Fish! Tales
$14.16
$13.95
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary, 11th Edition
$16.29
$39.99
*Amazon.com and mobipocket.com are affiliates
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Pros and Cons of using eBooks
Pros
Cons
No wear and tear on
software
All electronic devices
require power
Possibly cheaper when
used year after year
Initial investment can be
high
Less for students to
carry between classes
All eBooks depend on
their software / hardware
Easier distribution
methods
Not all eBooks are
compatible with all
devices
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Cornucopia of Information
 Wikipedia
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBook
 iLiad
 http://www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad
 Sony
 http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/reader/
 http://www.sonystyle.com
 Hanlin
 http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpro/prodetail.a
sp?id=20
 Safari Books Online
 http://www.safaribooksonline.com/products/lib_uni.asp
 K-12 use of eBooks
 http://www.eschoolnews.org/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6707
 General Information
 http://www.ebooks.com/help/first_time.asp#basics
 http://www.ebook2u.com/psjs_faqs/09194884.shtml
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If you would like a copy of this presentation:
 A copy of this presentation is located at the OIT
presentation web page:
 http://www.delta.edu/oit
 Then click on the Presentations link on the left side
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