publishing dynamics

HISTORY OF E-BOOKS 1

Student Number:

Institution:

Subject: History of E-books

Date of Submission: 30th

November 2011

Word Count: 1743


Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Background of e-books ............................................................................................................................ 3

Kinds of formats are used in electronic publishing ................................................................................... 5

Devices are used to read e-books ............................................................................................................ 6

Digital rights management ...................................................................................................................... 6

Impacts of e-books on the publishing business and book prices ............................................................... 7

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 10


Introduction

The paper traces the evolution of the multi-million industry of e-books. This has grown

tremendously over the period since the period Gutenberg was formed. The paper attempts to

make a detailed history of evolution the e-books. This paper will look at various technologies

that have been used to make material s readable and avail them to the users. Some companies

such as Amazon have innovative products offered to various markets. The publishers team up

with these companies to offer their books to the user at a fee. This means that, protection in the

form of security to ensure the companies gain as well as the publishers. This is because of

practices such as piracy which threatens the publishers and copyrights owners. The e-book has

also led to the growth of the publishing industry with the small players having got a platform to

market their books through avenues such as Amazon.

Background of e-books

The field of electronic publishing started in the year 1971 when a gentleman named Michael

Hart. He was a student of University of Illinois when he came up with the Gutenberg idea of

putting books into digital content. The platform ensures everyone with the access of the internet

can read and get the materials. This shows the internet as a powerful tool for spread of


information. Hart built the Gutenberg library with the pioneer book being the Declaration of

independence which was sent to colleagues and friend. 1

The library was built slowly with the digitalization of the King James Bible in 1989 and

subsequent works of William Shakespeare. In 2003, the library had Magna Carta in the

collection and now has a collection of million copies of books that are available for readers.

Gutenberg library inspired other libraries to come up their online libraries such that, they would

create and distribute materials to as many readers as possible. The major objective of the

Gutenberg library was based on the philosophy of sharing and preserving knowledge. These

efforts of Hart were met with a lot of challenges mainly from the typing tedious volumes of

books. However, later the advances in the field of technology brought scanners and computers

which simplified e-books creation. The slow speed of the internet also hampered greatly the

efforts to digitize the volumes of copies of books. With the advent of the World Wide Web, the

field of e-books was revolutionized in the 1970s. This is because the technologies improved a lot

and led to the expansion and creation of more libraries. These include Oregon Library, Kansas

library and library of the Congress of America. Other projects in the recent past include Carnegie

which launched the Universal Digital library which one can access content in all field of human

knowledge.2

The commercialization of e-books came into being due to the need to regulate content and for

book publishers to get return on their efforts. Therefore, private e-books have come up with

1 (Howard, 2005).

2 (Howard, 2005)


revenue to pay restricted access to some of the sites. This means that user have to pay for the

content they access on some of the sites and libraries. Most of the libraries have restrictions

using passwords to allow only authorized users to get information.3

Kinds of formats are used in electronic publishing

There are several formats that can be used in the digitizing books. Microsoft Word may be used

originally to create documents as well as adobe acrobat. These programs are used to prepare file

that can help in the digitization of the books. Portable document format is a format that does

preserve the nature and the look of a document. This format mode is special since it allows the

embedding, linking, searching and highlighting. Portable document format is capable of storing

data elements such that it files appears in color, title and metadata. This enables users to have

author, title and subject of the file for easier usage. It is often preferred when the files properties

such as feel and accessibility are important4. The pages of the books are scanned before they are

converted to portable digital formats. The method is obviously simple and straight easy and

involves the retention of the texture and the document. These formats make it possible to print

digital copies. Hypertext transfer protocol is another useful format through which e-books are

used5. Other formats used in the e-books include the XML and page layout composition. Page

layout is used in the creation of print products. This is used especially when the files are used in

the revision and republication. However, they have their demerits which include the issue of

storage. This is because they present the problem of compatibility since they are not acceptable

3 (Howard, 2005).

4 (Kasdorf, 2001).

5 (Polanka, 2011)


without the portable digital format. The main problem that can occur again is the software that

has created the file. This can be lost and that means that the usage of the page layout is rendered

impossible6.

Devices are used to read e-books

There are various devices that are used to read the content used in the e-books. These include

computers and personal digital assistants. Other includes laptops and desk computers. Some of

the devices are portable and have backlights that enable to read electronically. Rocket e-book is

also other devices that can be used to read electronic books. Palm computing device is software

used to read e-books7.

Digital rights management

This facility is intended to secure access and distribution of the content on internet. The other

function is the software is to disconnect illegal distribution of information posted on the internet.

Thus, it offers the management and enforcement of internet users. In management, it is usually

about the right holders identifying the content which they own and develop business models so

that, they can gain value for their money8. Digital management rights ensure that the

technologies are there to support the legal distribution of digital media with an objective of

securing property rights of the contents in the internet. This means that it saves money for

entertainment and media companies since practices such as piracy are curtailed. By securing

6 (Marshall, 2011)

7 (Howard, 2005)

8 (Greco, 2005)


specific rights of the publishers in e-books, they are made explicit. In the e-books, digital rights

management is very crucial since it restricts what content can be displayed or not. The rights of

the publisher and the user are recognized such that they co-exist (Marshall, 2011). The

application of digital rights management has been done using several ways. These include the

private key encryption which is a restriction based on the key which is found with the publisher

of a book. Even the reader has the key; it is not possible to decode the contents. In the e-book,

the digital rights managements are enabled such that they have specifications on the particular

actions that can be taken. These include copying, printing and accessing the e-book. The rights

also have specifications on the kind of software to use depending on software in current use9.

Impacts of e-books on the publishing business and book prices

E-books emergence has seen unprecedented growth and expansion in the business of publishing.

Many companies have continued to built new business partnerships and open new frontiers of

business. Companies such as Google and Apple have been active in providing e-books on the

platform such as Smartphone, tablets and personal computers. More companies are declaring

massive profits from the sale of e-books10

. E-books evolution has seen the emergence of

consolidation and the international rights sales. This means, that the publishers can sell part of

their materials to other companies for use in video games, films and label. This has seen product

innovation increasing rapidly. These include blockbusters books which are successful authors

who attract a lot of attention from the audiences. That means that the companies will want to sell

9 (Marshall, 2011)

10( Greco, 2005)


the authors’ book since it goes to a higher rate11

. In addition, the growth of the e-books sector has

seen the expansion in the bookstores and chain retailers. An example is the Barnes and Noble.

Online booksellers such as Amazon have grown rapidly since they offer a convenient12

.

Diversification is another impact that resulted from the growth of the books. The publishers are

offering different products such as novels, movies and films. This is due to increased competition

for e-books market niches. The publishers also have embraced technology to advertise their

books as well receiving manuscripts in soft copies such that time is saved considerably13

.

Conclusion

The paper has discussed the evolution of e-books. It has traced the growth from the inceptions by

Gutenberg ideas accounts for the current competitive marketing strategies. The paper

has also shown the formats that have been used in the publishing of e-books. Portable document

format and XML are some of the formats used in the publishing of e-books. The paper has also

discussed the digital rights management which is the rights publishers have other over the

contents in the internet. The users of the e-books such as Amazon have restriction on who can

access their materials so that they gain from their efforts. Use of encryption keys is common in e-

11(Biagi, 2011).

12 (Biagi, 2011).

13 (Biagi, 2011).


books to protect the distribution and access of the materials. The evolution of the e-books has

seen considerable efforts made in the field of publishing. Various companies have diversified

products which are offered to various books offered in the market. Consumers have also become

aware of their needs prompting the companies to offer diversified products.


Bibliography

Polanka, S. (2010) No shelf required: e-books in library Chicago: ALA Editions

Marshall, C. (2009) Reading and writing the electronic book Morgan and Claypool Publishers

Biagi, S. (2011) Media impact: An introduction to mass media Cengage learning

Greco, A. (2005) the book publishing industry New Jersey Routledge

Thompson, J. (2005) Books in the digital age: the transformation of the academic and higher

education in Britain and the United States Cambridge: Polity

Howard, N. (2005) the book: the life of a technology Greenwood Publishing

publishing dynamics

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