eBooks

= eBooks = toc The increasing popularity of eBooks has seen a rise in providers and options for reading the books in question. In 1971 Michael Hart founded Project Gutenberg, a venture that still exists to actively create e-books out of works available in the Public Domain. However, it was several decades before ebooks began to gain popularity. It was only with the lowering cost of personal computers, and the introduction of ereaders and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in the late 1990s that ebooks became convenient. eReader.com and eReads.com both began selling ebooks in 1999, marking the first time that any retailer attempted to sell eBooks as a single venture. Even so, current eReader systems such as the Sony eReader, the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook would not be available until the latter half of the 2000s. Currently there are a number of websites that sell eBooks, some of which can only be read on specific devices, while others are more universally available. Unfortunately, many users are frustrated by the proprietary technology that prevents them from using the books on any device of their choosing. This technology can lock a user into purchasing from a specific company, or make changing to a different device difficult, as users will need to ensure any new eReader or tablet computer has access to the books they have previously purchased.

Amazon Kindle[[image:kindle.jpg align="right" caption="Photo by arianravan used under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 License" link="@http://flic.kr/p/63zzdW"]]
Though not the first eReader device, the Amazon Kindle series popularized eReaders. Amazon Kindle devices originally included 3G access, and more currently have also had a WiFi option, so that users could access the Kindle bookstore and purchase new books directly from the device. Amazon’s Kindle device could also access documents created with Microsoft Word and unprotected Mobipocket books. Later models also included the ability to view PDF files. The Kindle uses e-Ink technology, a type of display that allows users to read in direct or bright light without the problems caused by reflection. More recent versions have included lower priced devices that include advertisements as the screen saver, and most recently the Kindle Fire, a tablet device designed for multimedia consumption. In addition, Kindle books can be read using applications on Android and Apple devices, as well as Mac, PC and in the Kindle Cloud.

Barnes and Noble's Nook
The Nook eReader was Barnes and Noble’s answer to the Amazon Kindle. First released in 2009, readers noted several similarities to the Kindle. The display used e-Ink and the device was of a similar size. Unlike the Kindle, the Nook used ePub, and FictionWise, rather than Mobipocket to format books. Unfortunately for both the Kindle and the Nook, the software used to create the eBooks made them mutually exclusive of each other. Users who wanted to be able to purchase and read eBooks from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble would have to purchase both devices. The Nook also offered users the ability to lend books to other Nook users, something that was not available at the time to Kindle users. Nook users could also take the device into the store, and if they wanted to sit and read a book for free, they got one free book per visit. Despite the use of ePub technology, and lending, proprietary technology still limited the ways the book could be used, and the number of times a user could lend it.

iPhone, iPad and iBooks
With the launch of the iPhone and iPad, eBook users began to have more options. In addition to the native iBooks application that could be used to purchase eBooks from Apple, the Kindle and the Nook both had apps that could be used to access content purchased for those other devices. This allowed eBook readers to have a much more integrated experience without having to purchase multiple expensive devices. However, when Apple entered the eBook market with the iBookstore, the eBook experience changed again. Up until the creation of the iBooks app, Amazon had been the dominant force the in eBook market, and Amazon insisted on selling most of the bestselling and/or new books for a price of approximately $9.99. During negotiations with publishers to sell books in the iBooks app, Apple promised publishers an agency style pricing; this allowed the publishers to push for similar pricing with Amazon and other booksellers, driving the prices of eBooks up for new books. Proprietary technology still limits the applications that can read eBooks from the various companies, but the applications developed by those companies to work on the iPad, and now various other tablet devices helps to mitigate some of these issues.

Libraries and eBooks media type="youtube" key="FjcpsAgcJmo" height="315" width="560" align="right"
Libraries have the option of providing eBooks to patrons through two main service providers. First, through Overdrive, an online book lender. Books lent through Overdrive can be read on the computer, or a number of devices. Which devices a book is available on depends on the format of the book in question, not all books are available in all formats. NetLibrary has a similar setup for eBook use. Proprietary technology affects these library offerings, and the users who can access them. Many users might have a device that does not have access to the books. Until recently, Kindle users could not use OverDrive to access books, and so any eBooks they checked out from the library would have to be read on the computer and lack portability. The video at right is a Richland County Public Library Demonstration on how to use the iPhone application for Overdrive.