Mastering the ebook revolution

Kosie Eloff

Department of Information Science

University of Pretoria

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Also…

Hitchhiker's Guide to the

Galaxy

“A small, thin, flexible lap computer encased in a sturdy plastic cover with the words Don't Panic inscribed on it in large, friendly letters.”

(1979)

Part 1 Overview: ebooks

Part 2 HTML: the glue that holds ebooks

together

PART 1: EBOOKS

Definitions, devices, formats

1. Demystifying the ebook

2. What is a "book", anyways?

3. Ereaders / media tablets

4. How to find / read ebooks

5. Ebooks / web sites?

6. How can I make ebooks?

HANDS UP IF YOU READ EBOOKS We’re all becoming digital readers

These kids do

1. What is an ebook?

Ebook files

Ebook readers

Ebook: what’s in a name?

Easy answer: simply an electronic file. Read on any device.

Long answer: books are complicated, even when digital.

Some formats suited for production, some for consumption, some for both (e.g. Word).

THE TIME FOR EBOOKS IS NOW

US wholesale ebook sales, 2002-2010

US wholesale ebook sales, 2002-2010

Amazon

US wholesale ebook sales, 2002-2010

We’ve come a long way…

Advantages 1. Reading experience improved*

2. Less expensive (overall...)

3. Environmentally friendly (except...)

4. Space savings*

5. Portability

6. Reading aids (e.g. bookmarking, sharing...) *

7. Searchability

8. Navigation (referencing, hyperlinking)

Advantages 9. You can write in ebooks

10. People with disabilities

11. Always accessible

12. “Instant” delivery*

13. No shipping charges (except...)

14. Enhancement opportunities *

Reading awards & tracking

Kobo Reading Life

Kobo Reading Life

Kobo Reading Life

Kobo Reading Life

Multimedia enhancement

Disadvantages ?

Tower of ebabel

2. Ebooks vs. pbooks?

Cambridge Dictionary

An electronic book which can be read on a small personal computer.

Oxford Dictionary

An electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.

Merriam-Webster

A book composed in or converted to digital format for display on a computer screen or handheld device.

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. They are engines of change, windows on the world, lighthouses erected in the sea of time.” - (Tuchman, 1980)

3. Ereaders vs. tablets?

Ereaders • Kindle (65% market share in US, 2011*)

• Nook

• Sony Reader

• Kobo

In SA, you’re most likely to (import) a Kindle, and to buy a Kobo, Gobii, or a Sony.

“A sheet of paper that can be electronically reconfigured instantaneously to display any page from any book, article or

document”

E-ink displays

Prices dropping

Media tablets

iPad (Apple), Playbook (Blackberry), Android devices, Kindle Fire

1) Operate with touch

2) Aren’t supposed to store all your media

LCD displays

eReader or media tablet?

eReaders

•Long battery life

•Low cost

(R900-R2,000 + S&I)

•E-ink display (typically)

•Low functionality

Media tablets

•Limited battery life

•Expensive

(R3,000-R10,000 + S&I)

•LCD display (typically)

•High functionality

4. How do I actually read ebooks?

It’s sometimes more accurate to say people buy into a platform, not

a specific piece of hardware or software.

The following images show how I find an ebook on a popular (free) site, then download and transfer

the ebook to my ereader.

Attaching eReader via USB cable

Directory with ereader’s books

Kindle for PC

Kindle for iPad

Select device (up to six / account) to send to

PRINCIPAL FORMATS: PDF, KINDLE, EPUB

Ebook formats

EPUB-COMPLIANT READERS For instance, Aldiko on your Android smartphone

Epub-compliant readers

• Adobe Digital Editions (Windows, Mac)

• Aldiko (Android)

• Calibre (Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux)

• Google Books (Web app, Android, iOS)

• iBooks (iOS)

• Readium (Chrome)

EPUB-COMPLIANT AUTHORING TOOLS

For instance, InDesign supports EPUB export

Epub-compliant authoring tools

• Adobe InDesign

• Calibre

• iBooks Author

• oXygen XML Editor

• Pages

• Sigil

• Word (manual labour required…)

Digital rights management

• Three major eBook DRM schemes:

–Amazon DRM (.mobi)

–Adobe DRM (.epub, .pdf)

–Apple FairPlay DRM (.epub, .pdf)

Ebook stores • Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

• Apple (requires ISBN)

• Sony (requires ISBN)

• Kobo

• Google (only US)

Ebook stores

• Independent – BooksOnBoard

– Smashwords

• Local – Kalahari

– Exclusive Books

– Kindlebooks.co.za

– Littlewhitebakkie.co.za

Many more

5. How are ebooks like web sites?

EPUB - definition

• Distribution and interchange format standard for digital publications and documents based on XML and web standards

• Managed by the International Digital Publishing Forum

So, since ebooks are like web sites – and increasingly being created

and published web-first…

PART 2: HTML

Every information professional should understand HTML

If you’re online, please visit:

http://bit.ly/elibraryhtml

If you’re offline, please see your hand-outs and follow along with

the presentation.

Hand-outs for practical session start here

Exercise 1

Mark up the content of the paper with the following tags. It is up to you to decide which tags are relevant:

<h1>

<p>

<strong>

<em>

Exercise 1: Text

Mark up the content of the following slide with the following tags. It is up to you to decide which tags are relevant:

<h1>

<p>

<strong>

<em>

Exercise 1: Memorandum

South Africa to assist NASA Mars mission

The South African Space Agency's (Sansa's) Space Operations directorate has been selected by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to provide tracking services for the launch of its latest Mars mission. This is an amazing piece of news!

The Mars Science Laboratory is a Nasa mission that aims to land and operate a rover, named Curiosity, on the surface of Mars. The US$2.3-billion mission is part of Nasa's long-term programme to explore Mars via robotic devices.

Exercise 1: Memorandum

<h1>South Africa to assist NASA Mars mission</h1> <p>The South African Space Agency's (Sansa's) Space Operations directorate has been selected by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to provide tracking services for the launch of its latest Mars mission. This is an <em>amazing</em> piece of news!</p> <p>The Mars Science Laboratory is a Nasa mission that aims to land and operate a rover, named <strong>Curiosity</strong>, on the surface of Mars. The US$2.3-billion mission is part of Nasa's long-term programme to explore Mars via robotic devices.</p>

Exercise 1: Memorandum

<h1>South Africa to assist NASA Mars mission</h1> <p>The South African Space Agency's (Sansa's) Space Operations directorate has been selected by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to provide tracking services for the launch of its latest Mars mission. This is an <em>amazing</em> piece of news!</p> <p>The Mars Science Laboratory is a Nasa mission that aims to land and operate a rover, named <strong>Curiosity</strong>, on the surface of Mars. The US$2.3-billion mission is part of Nasa's long-term programme to explore Mars via robotic devices.</p>

Hand-outs for practical session end here

Thank you!

Me, online

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/kosieeloff

Especially for publishers & librarians

Google+: https://plus.google.com/101094585504476928154

Especially for multimedia professionals

http://bit.ly/keloff

HTML, CSS and the EPUB standard

• eBound. 2011. ‘An introduction to HTML and CSS for EPUB’. Posted 10 June. This tutorial is based on EPUB2, not 3; nonetheless, it covers the basics needed.

• Kolwalczyk, P. 2011. ‘Creating Epub ebooks with Sigil: #1- getting started’. Teleread. Posted 7 October.

HTML, CSS and the EPUB standard

• O’Reilly. 2012. ‘What is EPUB 3? An introduction to the EPUB specification for multimedia publishing’.You can preview it online, but you must create an account on O’Reilly to download the free ebook version.

• Tallent, J. 2009. ‘Kindle formatting: The complete guide’. Kindle Formatting.

General resources and articles

• eBook architects: http://ebookarchitects.com/

• EPUBsecrets: http://epubsecrets.com/

• Electric Book Works’ Knowledge Base (local!)

http://ebw.co/kbase/

EPUB3-specific

• McCoy, B. 2011. ’9 Things you need to know about ePub3′. Book Business. Posted November.