Personally I’ve yet to fall in love with the e-book format. I use electronic documents daily in the course of my work but when it comes to study and leisure there is something about a book. Textbooks , in their authoritive hard covers demand a straight posture and a focused attitude. On the other hand the sleazy tactile character of the paperback invites sloth and demands you seek out a comfortably place to curl up and lose oneself for an hour. In my humble opinion both these instances of the concept ‘book’ trump balancing a laptop on my knees. But emotions aside is the e-book going to dominate the future?
The merits of the e-book format look impressive. These ‘books’ are compact, cheaper than their paper counterparts, supported by a host of electronic aids such as bookmarks, annotation tools and the facility to easily copy and paste excerpts into your own work. Specialists websites, like http://www.ebooks.com , allow the purchase and download e-book files to your electronic reading device. Even the mammoth Amazon is beginning to focus on distributing their core merchandise in this format and Google’s e-book project, (http://books.google.com ) allows you to download as PDF files a number of classic works such as Black Beauty free of charge. Their e-library also includes back issues of a number of American magazines such as Life and Popular Mechanics.
Despite my misgivings expressed above the e-book looks like it can impact positively on the field of education. In Southern Africa where universities are strapped for resources the e-book format makes a lot of sense. This dearth of tertiary education materials is partly the result of many African governments’ commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. These gaols called for the expansion of the Primary Education sector. This has been done often at the expense of secondary and tertiary education. For example I have visited a number of university libraries where library staff make do by rebinding again and again exhausted out of print texts. Enter the e-book.
A number of universities in South Africa and Malawi under the guidance of the International Association for Digital Publications (IADP) are piloting the distribution of electronic textbooks to their students. Last week the pilot was expanded to include PHD Aquaculture and Fish Nutrition students at Bunda College of Agriculture outside Lilongwe.
The e-book format, however, is not without issue and the pilots projects have exposed a number of barriers to adoption. Firstly the student population in African institutions need access to an electronic reading device which is not always easy. While the number of laptops appearing on campuses is growing exponentially and universities are setting up computer rooms it cannot be assumed that access is assured for the large number of students that require access to the books.
Secondly the need to protect copyrighted textbook titles means access to the e-books is complicated and mired in technical red tape. For example the IADP books are protected by Adobe’s DRM system and NetLibrary’s permission system. To access the books for the first time requires two registrations. This process is often seen as a ‘turn off’ by students who want to study as and when they are ready. Another technical drawback is that in Africa bandwidth is limited. This makes online viewing of the books impossible. Only downloaded copies carries any credibility.
Thirdly there is currently a gap between those academic textbooks that are currently digitalised and those that academics and students really want to read. Digitalising a textbook takes a surprising long time with a lead in time of about 6 months.
However, looking at the drawbacks described above these can easily be overcome in time and with some effort. For example, feedback from the University of the Western Cape’s Social Work department where the pilot has been running for a few years and with the support of the staff is very positive. Students have adopted the format as a cost effective way of accessing up to date texts.
Cost effectiveness might be the reason for e-books spreading popularity within the education community. Paper textbooks that can be purchased from Amazon.com for $400.00 are available at eBooks.com for $50.00. Also South African academics report that savings of up to 40% are common when buying the electronic version. So my initial reservations about paper vs. electronic textbooks needs to be mediated in the light of the super savings. I might have to abandon the upright posture and find another way to keep the focused attitude.