This title provides a useful and succinct overview of electronic publishing and content development and is useful as an introduction to issues of eBook formats, content access and the potential roles of libraries in managing and supporting access to emerging forms of digital content. The title is divided into three parts – Rights, Format and Vibrancy.
The title’s initial discussion relates to issues of copyright and Digital Rights Management (DRM), however, this is presented in relation to US legislation and law. Part of this discussion focuses on the provision of “fair use” within the USA, and the degree to which academic libraries can access digital content under such terms. While the author is correct in identifying this as an issue in the digital age, care is needed in reading this section outside of a US legislative environment as fair use may vary globally.
Readers may, however, be interested in the overview of the ways that digital content is currently protected. This outlines how content is physically protected by hardware and software restrictions on access to and use of digital content. Part of the discussion also relates to the various file formats that are used for the publishing of digital content. The aim of this discussion is to provide libraries with an understanding as to how the formats aim to protect author’s intellectual property and the impact that this may have on the role of libraries in providing access to content.
The discussion of these file formats is useful for readers who wish to gather an overview of the ways that eBook content can be developed and presented. The discussion is not a technical one, but rather a description of the formats and advantages of each. The discussion is current and evaluative of the file formats. For example the limitations of the earlier version of the EPUB standard is presented in comparison to the movement towards EPUB3 as a format for building interactive eBooks. The discussion of Apple’s iBook Author details the advantage of the software for developing content, but also raises issues relating to the potential of being tied to Apple’s distribution channel for iBook-specific content.
The format discussion compares eBook and digital content within the models used for broader software development, and suggests that just as software can be easily updated, so too could eBook content. For libraries, this becomes an issue of management as what constitutes an “edition” within a digital content environment. The term “content” is said to have emerged from a web understanding of information access and thus we may be starting to see eBooks as part of the broader web and digital information access processes. This is partly raised in discussion of HTML5 and the possibility that the broader adoption of this HTML standard may decrease the reliance on the range of file formats currently used for eBook publishing.
A reader with an interest in eBook development will certainly benefit from this title. It provides a succinct description of the various ebook formats. While the title refers to the academic library environment, the overview discussion of eBook technology would be of interest to any library environment. The specific focus on academic libraries is presented in Part C: vibrancy where a number of library and education projects are presented as case examples. The role of libraries within the electronic content development process is discussed, especially in relation to drawing together material from open educational resources (OER) into new textbook-like titles. The discussion draws back to that of digital rights and the role that academic libraries may have in understanding and advising on the reuse rights of content, especially as educators incorporate creative comments-type material into learning environments. If you have an interest in eBook and the management of published digital content, then this title may be of interest.
