e Books Overview

7/30/2019 e Books Overview

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eboni.cdlr.strath.ac.uk

ebooks overview and

EBONI project

Ruth Wilson

7th June 2001


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Outline

What is an ebook?

The state of the industry today

EBONI


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What is an ebook?

The term ebook is used to refer to:

The type of content that comprises electronic

books The platforms on which this content is

available

The formats in which the content is available Methods of delivering the content


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Content

Out of copyright material (Project Gutenberg, the InternetPublic Library)

Books published in print and electronically

e-only books (Stephen Kings Riding the Bullet)

Self-published ebooks (Online Originals, 1stbooks.com)

Extended books


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Platforms

PCs and Macs

PDAs and Pocket PCs

Dedicated ebook readers (hardware)


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Platforms

goReadereBookMan hiebook

REB 1100 REB 1200


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Formats

ASCII HTML

Proprietary formats

Microsoft Reader, Adobe Acrobat EbookReader (Glassbook Reader), eRocket,MobiPocket Reader, Peanut Reader, TK3Reader

OEB Publication Structure


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Delivery

Ebooks can be delivered online, on CD-ROM, made available for downloading,

sent to an email address, or printed on

demand. They can be:

Free

Purchasable Borrowable (netLibrary, ebrary)


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Here and Now

Increasing interest among stakeholders

Enthusiasm among authors:

Matt Beaumonts The e Before Christmas

On the Edge Attachments spin-off

Frederick Forsyths Quintet

Content becoming available from

international publishers Hardware and software


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EBONI


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EBONI: Aims

EBONI aims to: Evaluate the different approaches to the design of

electronic textbooks, and to identify whichtechniques/styles are most successful in enablingusers to retrieve, quickly and easily, the informationthey require.

Identify and report on the individual requirements ofstudents and academics from different disciplines andbackgrounds in learning and teaching on the Web.

Compile and promote a set of best practice guidelinesfor the publication of textbooks on the Internet,reflecting the usability requirements of the UK HEcommunity.


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EBONI: Aims

These objectives will be achieved by: Conducting a survey of the range of learning

and teaching material available on the Internet,

to identify the different designs and techniquesused for displaying content.

Selecting particular textbooks which are

representative of the variety of approaches to

the electronic publication of such texts.


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EBONI: Aims

These objectives will be achieved by: Developing a methodology for evaluating

electronic books.

Working with users from different disciplinesand backgrounds to carry through this

methodology.

Using the results of the experiments to identify

mechanisms for improving the usability ofelectronic books.


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EBONI: Methodology

Selection of material Selection of participants

Selection of tasks

Scavenger hunt, memory tasks, high cognitive

skill tasks

Selection of evaluation techniques

Questionnaires, observation, think-aloud,interviews


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Some URLs

http://eboni.cdlr.strath.ac.uk http://www.planetebook.com

http://knowbetter.com

http://www.ebookad.com

http://www.openebook.org

http://www.ebookmap.net

http://www.waxinfo.com

e Books Overview

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