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E-books: Round Two

Andrew Pace
By Andrew K. Pace
American Libraries Columnist
andrew_pace@ncsu.edu

Head of Systems, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh.

Column for September 2004

Five years ago might seem like a century to those tracking technology in libraries, but if readers will cast their minds back that far, they will recall great predictions about the future of e-books. These prophecies came not from the fringe, but from librarians (yours truly included), technologists, automation vendors, and even some publishers. It’s difficult to say that the bubble burst when it had hardly inflated. If it seemed inflated, it was mostly the hot air of prognosticators.

Unfortunately, many libraries are still feeling the sting of their first encounter with e-books, whether from the empty promises of rich content that never came or from the hype of e-book devices that dazzled, changed ownership, then withered and died under financial mismanagement and greed. Other libraries still plod along with e-books, persuaded by download statistics and patrons lured to the library by electronic content, but the “r” is completely gone from the front of this slow but steady “evolution” of electronic books. Can anything save the e-book? Certainly. And help is on the way in the form of better content, better technology, and the realization that e-books will not replace the printed book but will most certainly satisfy readers in a fashion that no longer smacks of technological novelty or fad.

Content is still king

Perhaps it surprised librarians to find that the publishing industry is as firmly entrenched in 19th-century business models as many libraries are. The flood of timely and up-to-date content for e-books never really came. Millions of dollars were spent on conversion, reformatting, and distribution. The e-book company that tried to be all things to all readers (or all libraries) tried and failed. As many could have predicted, technology without good content is form without substance. The future success of e-book marketers depends on the ability to offer valuable content, usually through niche markets or unique business models. Three of the newest players are worthy of a closer look.

Ebooks Corporation

Academic libraries may find their answer from one of the leading commercial e-book retailers, Ebooks Corporation. The company’s Ebook Library (EBL) combines first-rate content from dozens of science/technology/medicine publishers with its patented Non-Linear Lending model, which allows libraries to determine lending periods for simultaneous access to downloadable, self-expiring pdf e-book files. The break from “one book, one lender” models has been long awaited by libraries.

Moreover, EBL offers perpetual ownership of the titles it sells to libraries. Unlike many publisher-direct offerings of downloadable content, EBL also allows patrons to preview content before downloading the pdf file. This might be the closest thing to Amazon’s Look Inside the Book that a library vendor has offered. EBL’s consultative approach to developing its platform (working with Curtin University; the library at the CERN particle physics laboratory; Yale University; and my own employer, NCSU Libraries), has led to favorable publishing contracts, looser digital rights management, and a robust end-user interface.

Overdrive

For public libraries eager to lend popular titles as e-books, Overdrive delivers, using its content server featuring Adobe’s PDF format, which allows patrons to download titles to the device of their choosing. The key technological innovation rests in Adobe’s self-expiring digital rights management, and in Overdrive’s ability to authenticate users accessing library patron databases and without necessitating separate accounts. Other vendors, including NetLibrary (one of the first), are using these advances to get away from online-only and single-device access to content.

Ebrary

Not quite content to call its content “books,” Ebrary entered the market with first-rate technology and a self-described “database” of content, the bulk of which is made up of e-book titles. Ebrary might not be as attractive to libraries dedicated to title-by-title selection, but should be appealing to those who like refreshed and growing content without the additional cost of adding new titles.

In six months, Ebrary increased its title count by 25% without raising prices; the Academic Complete database provides simultaneous, multiuser access to more than 19,200 titles. Like a database, Ebrary works on a subscription model. The company has numerous packaged databases, the ability to add individual titles, and some of the most enviable search and display technology on the market.

Impressive hardware

E-books’ detractors still sing the familiar chorus of eyestrain, citing devices that are not equipped for beach or bed readability, while singing the praises of the print format that has remained nearly unchanged in 600 years. Nevertheless, the technology that will revolutionize offline reading is already on the scene. Available only in Japan, the Sony LIBRIé e-Book Reader utilizes Philips’s   Electronic Paper Display and features E Ink’s electronic ink technology. Boasting 170 dots per inch (more than twice the normal web page display), the LIBRIé allows for over 10,000 page turns on only four AAA batteries. Without the necessity of backlighting, readers get more power and a brighter display in ambient light.

Kent Displays in Ohio also markets a cholesteric LCD display to third-party device makers. The firm recently added color to the monochrome display that distinguishes the electronic ink market from its PDA, tablet PC, and multiuse-device brethren.

The only drawback in this second round of e-book device wars is that several manufacturers are simultaneously negotiating deals that will tie content to proprietary formats—that is, the e-book content for these devices will only work on a single reader. This repeats the mistakes of Rocket eBook and Softbook devices, and ignores the library market (probably the best seed market for e-books) completely.

E-books on paper

Finally, in an ironic twist, the printed book might just be the savior of the e-book format. The On Demand Machine Corporation offers the BookMachine, an automated device that can produce a softcover, perfect-bound, standard-format book on customer demand within three to five minutes. The 120-cubic-foot device includes all the materials required for print-on-demand books and even accepts credit card payments. I fully expect to see these devices in bookstores in the next five years, and the advent of this technology, coupled with e-book formats and digital libraries, could eradicate “out of print” from our professional lexicon.

E-books have a future. Am I happy I didn’t put my money where my mouth was five years ago? Most certainly. But I also think the tide is turning. Whether for serendipitous discovery, offline electronic reading, or the ability to print digital warehouses of content, libraries that serve up e-books, e-book devices, and (soon) print-on-demand content will keep in stride with a growing population of digital consumers.

Contracts and Agreements

  • Endeavor sales of Voyager:

Pulaski Technical College, in Little Rock, Arkansas, replacing Dynix Classic. California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, replacing DRA Classic. Saint Peter’s College, in Jersey City, New Jersey, replacing Dynix Classic. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis.

  • Ex Libris sales of Aleph 500:

Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory’s Research Library, replacing BASIS Techlib.

  • Innovative Interfaces sales of Electronic Resource Management:

Innovative announced that sales of this system have surpassed 60, including several key standalone customers, including Cornell University and the University at Buffalo in New York.

  • Sirsi sales of Unicorn:

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Free Library of Philadelphia, South Carolina State Library in Columbia, and the State Library of Florida in Tallahassee, all replacing Sirsi DRA Classic.

  • TLC sales of Library.Solution:

Lexington (Ky.) Public Library, replacing Sirsi DRA Classic. Rahway (N.J.) Public Library, replacing Dynix; Appomattox Regional Library in Hopewell, Virginia, and Petersburg (Va.) Public Library, replacing GIS. Joe Barnhart Bee County (Tex.) Public Library.

  • VTLS sales of Virtua:

New York University.

Announcements

  • Marsha Stark returned to the library automation industry in May as Sirsi’s new vice president of sales for North America. Stark formerly worked for Innovative Interfaces. Sirsi also tapped the educational software industry in June by hiring Angus Carroll away from MindLeaders; Carroll joins Sirsi as chief marketing officer.
  • Jane Burke, former CEO of Endeavor Information Systems, has been named sales director for Cadmus Professional Communications.
  • At the end of June, Robert Walton ended his one-year run as chairman of the board of Ex Libris (USA). Walton’s departure follows the appointment of Dan Trajman as president of the U.S. subsidiary. Russell McDonald, vice president of sales and an industry veteran, will also leave Ex Libris at the end of August to work full time for the Kerry-Edwards campaign; McDonald has been replaced by Susan Pastore, formerly director of library relations at Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  • Auto-Graphics has announced that Patrick Bergamasco has joined the firm as the new CEO, replacing Robert Cope, who will retain his current role as chairman of the board.
  • Dynix has been playing some musical chairs: Bill Davison, who most recently served as executive vice president of sales and marketing, has been promoted to chief operating officer, replacing Julian Critchfield. Eric Keith, formerly director of academic sales, is now vice president of operations; and Steve Nielsen, previously the company’s vice president of strategic planning, has assumed the role of vice president of product management.
  • Jeroen Reiniers has joined Endeavor Information Systems as director of marketing. Formerly business development manager for LexisNexis Asia-Pacific, Reiniers has also held previous positions at Reed Elsevier.

Acquisitions

ProQuest Information and Learning has acquired Serials Solutions, one of the industry’s first A–Z periodical list providers. Peter McCracken’s young company had gained a loyal following, and Serials Solutions’ services have provided e-resource access for several libraries.

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