Bookshare crosses 100,000 member milestone

By Patricia Presti - 2 weeks ago

"Bookshare, the world’s largest online accessible library of copyrighted content for individuals with print disabilities, today announced a milestone event ... Bookshare’s Publisher program also crossed a substantial milestone, with more than 60 publishers from a wide range of publishing sectors agreeing to contribute digital files to Bookshare for worldwide distribution. These files expand Bookshare’s library with ...academic and scholarly works, textbooks, and educational materials... "

Barnes & Noble looks to lock down e-book delivery for education with Nook Study

By Patricia Presti - 2 weeks ago

July 12, 2010 :: "... today announced that it has developed an integrated software solution for the higher education market. Called NOOKstudy, the feature rich, free software application is the ultimate study tool, enabling students to manage all their digital content – eTextbooks, class materials, and notes – on the computing device they rely on most, their PC or Mac...."

University of Illinois awarded grant for open source textbooks

By Patricia Presti - 2 weeks ago

June 30, 2010 :: "The University of Illinois has received a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education to create an open-source textbook to be used by students on its three campuses...University of Illinois faculty members will create the textbook—the subject of which has not been decided. Once made, the textbook will be available online for free, and a print version will be available for a reasonable price..

Sony Unveils Reader Library Program to Promote Digital Reading at Public Libraries

By Patricia Presti - 2 weeks ago

June 29, 2010 :: "In recognition of Library Advocacy Day, Sony today unveiled the Reader Library program, a new initiative to support the work of public libraries as they expand and promote their eBook collections. The program provides public libraries with training on digital reading devices, educational materials to help readers learn about the eBooks and digital texts available to them through their local libraries, and digital reading devices for library staff use..."

Ray Kurzweil Vows to Right E-Reader Wrongs

By Patricia Presti - 5 weeks ago

June 18, 2010 :: "...Mr. Kurzweil argued that the existing e-readers and tablets had limitations in the text formats they support and the way they handle the original images and layouts in printed texts. Blio preserves the original formatting, making it particularly attractive to publishers of things like cookbooks, how-to guides, schoolbooks, travel guides and children’s books..."

The Kno: A giant double-screen tablet to replace giant textbooks

By Patricia Presti - 6 weeks ago

June 11, 2010 :: "...Weighing in at 5.5 pounds, the dual-screen electronic textbook will offer students access to a wealth of published educational material as well as wireless access to the internet and multimedia content such as high definition video. Just like with its paper cousin, the Kno will also allow for note-taking, highlighting and bookmarking..."

Jetstar to offer iPads as an in-flight entertainment option

By Patricia Presti - 6 weeks ago

June 2, 2010 :: "Jetstar Airways, a Qantas owned Australian low-cost airline, has announced plans to trial Apple iPads as an in-flight entertainment option. This trial would make Jetstar one of the first airlines in the world to offer the iPad..."

Are e-books green? No open and shut case

By Patricia Presti - 7 weeks ago

May 24, 2010 :: "...A study by United States research and media firm Cleantech Group found carbon emissions from electronic books were far lower than from traditional book publishing. On average, the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of an Amazon Kindle e-reader would be fully offset after the first year of use, and any additional years of use would result in net carbon savings of about 168 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year, it said. That assumed people would otherwise buy 22 new books a year..."

A slimmer Kindle coming in August?

By Patricia Presti - 8 weeks ago

May 31, 2010 :: "Amazon plans to unveil a thinner Kindle with a sharper picture in August, according to a Bloomberg News report on Saturday citing anonymous sources. Two people familiar with the online retailer's plans told Bloomberg the next-generation e-book reader will not have a touch screen or color, but the display will be sharper and more responsive..."

Why universities should hate the iPad

By Patricia Presti - 8 weeks ago

May 31, 2010 :: "If students embrace textbooks on the iPad, college bookstores may lose their shirts..."