Daniel Pollock VP & AFFILIATION Lead Analyst, STM, Outsell Play (25min) Download: FLV | MOV | Ogg | mp3

A high level review of E-Books, covering how people are using them, estimates of revenues from this important emerging medium, and key features and trends in e-books and their much-hyped readers (the technology, not the people). We will set this in the context of the information industry in general, and the STM segment in particular.

Brian Bishop Springer Science + Business Media Play (26min) Download: FLV | MOV | Ogg | mp3

Academic and corporate libraries are increasingly adding eContent to their holdings today. Library patrons expect their library to offer eJournals and they more and more expect it to offer eBooks as well. Major STM publishers have to include eBooks in their product mix if they want to keep pace with the trend. Springer was one of the first STM publishers to foresee the eBook trend and offered comprehensive eBook packages to academic and corporate libraries starting in 2006. Like eJournals, eBooks are a great research tool, but still most students and scholars go lengths to avoid reading a book online. With Springer’s latest innovation, MyCopy, a hybrid product combining the eBook with a POD print book format, libraries can now offer their patrons to pick the content format that suits their individual research needs best. MyCopy as a business model reflects how scientific books are used today and provides a model for complementary print and online publication.

Mike Taylor Elsevier Labs, Elsevier Play (37min) Download: FLV | MOV | Ogg | mp3

Books are designed for readers; eBooks have users. It’s all downhill from there. We’ll present some new ideas about use models (and our research) and the match (or not) with current market offerings, in both web-based and gadget-based formats. We’ll also discuss new user-centered models of “book” publishing. The conclusion will be that the word “book” is holding us back.

Eileen Dolan, Kate Price, Roel Tilly, Jill Taylor-Roe Panel, STM Book 2.03 – E-Books Play (84min) Download: FLV | MOV | Ogg | mp3

Moderator: Eileen Dolan, Director of Market Development, Wiley-Blackwell
Librarians share their “hands on” experiences, including patrons’ skills using e-books.

“Such stuff as dreams are made on?: E-book use at the University of Surrey”
Kate Price, E-Strategy & Resources Manager, University Library, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Students and staff at the University of Surrey consistently rate “Access to Information Resources” as their number on priority. They also currently have access to over 160,000 e-books. So have their dreams come true? Or are the promises of e-books more akin to the “insubstantial pageant” that Prospero describes during the finale of “The Tempest”? (Shakespearian references will be kept to a minimum!).

Transition from Folio to Electronic Books: Acquiring Books for the Learning Resource Centre
Roel Tilly, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands

Jill Taylor-Roe, Head of Liaison & Academic Services, Robinson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne

Ruth Jones Ingram Digital Ltd. Play (26min) Download: FLV | MOV | Ogg | mp3

The digital content ecosystem is complex. Meanwhile, e-content has become a virtually mandatory component of business strategies – from those of niche publishers to those of independent booksellers and top libraries. However, leveraging existing opportunities requires significant investments in technology infrastructure. It also demands that companies shift resources away from their core businesses to tackle the operational complexities inherent to the digital marketplace. Meanwhile, the print content market is still robust. By leveraging resources and strategies currently available, companies in the content value chain can bring innovative and highly profitable digital products to market.

Caroline Wain RSC Publishing, Royal Society of Chemistry Play (23min) Download: FLV | mp3

Many publishers have approached ebook publishing with sceptism and doubt, relating to high initial investment, canabilisation of print markets and problematic DRM and copyright protection. Using the RSC activities as a case study we will be looking at the real opportunities that ebook publishing has presented and how small and medium size publishers can exploit some of these to revive activities in the book publishing area.