E-books Get a Rewrite
By Shonda Brisco -- School Library Journal, 2/1/2007
<p>How many Palms, e-readers, and pocket-sized gear must you own in order to truly enjoy the wide variety of reading material now available in various digital formats? Well, if you're like me, you've got one of each. It's not simply a case of techno-lust—the digital formats of many e-books are not compatible with every piece of hardware that's out there. But that's about to change.</p>
<p>Recently the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) created a technical standard “to facilitate digital content creation, distribution, and use by customers.” Also known as the Open eBook Publication Structure Container Format (OCF), the new standard allows for packaging of a digital file into a single format so that consumers with different ebook readers will be able to share material. This will expand the availability of titles and lower the costs for publishers entering the e-book market. For school libraries, a standard format offers an opportunity for students to exchange digital ebooks as easily as they trade paperbacks. Lower costs will also allow more schools to acquire e-books and other digital material.</p>
<p>At this time, more than 40 companies have signed on to OCF, including Adobe Systems Inc., NetLibrary, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. In the meantime, two new products may encourage the use of e-books. <a href="http://www.ebooktechnologies.com" target="_blank">EBook Technologies</a> has created ETI-2, a portable and inexpensive ($124) e-reader. By partnering with <a href="http://www.filamentbooks.com" target="_blank">Filament Books</a>, eBook Technologies provides the ability to download up to 20 or more titles at a time to the handheld device. About the size of a paperback book, ETI-2 has a backlit screen and provides page-turning ability. Users can also enlarge font size and highlight text. </p>
<p>Filament offers more than 10,000 mostly adult titles. However, Ebook Technologies is actively working to enter the K–12 school library and classroom market. Perhaps after some direct input from librarians and teachers, the ETI-2 may emerge as a viable tool for students.</p>
<p>In other e-book news, <a href="http://www.overdrive.com" target="_blank">OverDrive</a> has unveiled its School Download Library, which provides more than 50,000 electronic titles to jumpstart an e-book and audiobook collection at your media center. The Library comes preloaded with a core audio and ebook collection that students can download to laptops, PCs, handhelds, or MP3 players. Through school district or regional consortiums, School Download Library can provide students the opportunity to access thousands of titles, available in the electronic format of their choice.</p>
