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E-book readers in a mobile-friendly library

Alison Brock

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Contents

About the project Project outcomes Wider issues and discussion

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Aims of project

Main aim: To explore student working

practice of using e-book readers, to inform development of library services.

Also: To collect information

about the ease of use of two different e-readers.

To investigate e-reader content available to students.

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Methodology

6 participants per university (4 Sony and 2 iPod Touch)

Given an e-book reader each to use for 3 months (August – October 2009)

Pre-pilot survey Start-up workshops Ning Forum – for blogging, news, help Mid-project get together End of project survey End of project interviews

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OU Participants

Student A: Level 1 Welsh beginners (L196)Student B: Level 2 Child development (ED209)Student C: Level 3 History of Technology (AT308)Student D: Masters level business (B822)Student E: Masters level education (H812)Student F: PhD Geography

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Cranfield Participants

Student G: Eng student Cranfield Health Student H: PhD in Aerospace and Aeronautics Student I: PhD in Water Science Student J: PhD in Nanotechnology Student K: Exec MBA School of Management Participant L: Course Director

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The Sony Reader(PRS-505)

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The Apple iPod Touch(8GB)

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Thoughts on the Sony

Strengths Good for sequential, narrative reading Lightweight, portable Easy on the eyes (uses e-ink)

Weaknesses Slowness of navigation – hierarchical A bit clicky and clunky Only does one thing

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Thoughts on the iPodStrengths Nice gadget, does other things as

well Very portable – literally pocket

sized Page turning with touch screen

very easy Coloured pages make reading

easier

Weaknesses Tricky to get appropriate content

onto it Screen size just a bit too small Reliant on Wifi

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Pre-pilot survey results Before pilot less than half the participants had

used e-books Those who had viewed them on a laptop or

PC/Mac (no experience of e-book readers) Most were keen to use non-fiction books Of those who had not used e-books reasons

given were:o Lack of knowledgeo They could be tricky/complicatedo Prefer physical bookso New technologyo They seem expensive

In using them they hoped it would save paper, be more portable, help them to find things quickly using search facilities.

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Post-pilot survey results

Most participants used the reader for more than one purpose e.g. research, listening to music, audio books, reading fiction as well as games

They found switching on and initial use easy, but getting content onto the devices was tricky and their use for study purposes tricky or difficult.

They were generally lukewarm about whether they would borrow a device from the library

Most would not buy the model they had tested even if they would consider buying a e-book reader

Main barriers for use were formatting issues, navigation, can’t annotate or interact with text, tiring to use.

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OU Findings Expectations pre-pilot:

“all the course materials in one place, easy to carry around”

“slip it in your pocket and have a few dozen books with me”

“enable me to study on the move a bit more”

“seeing how the OU could deliver things in different ways”

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OU Findings Most participants found the devices were

limited by their functionality and didn’t fit with current study practices

Accessing and downloading appropriate study content on to the devices was difficult even for the more tech-savvy participants

Formatting content once on the devices caused problems (e.g. PDFs) and especially diagrams or images

Library subscribed e-book content is only licensed for PC use not for downloading onto e-book readers

Difficult to locate e-book content to use as it is available in many different places

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OU Findings When using mostly text based material was

possible to see the benefits of the portability and ease of navigation

Students reported that they didn’t have to print out so much, and could feel they were working away from the computer a lot more

With the iPod Touch you could also surf the net and use the course website

Once the materials had been downloaded for use on the devices they were relatively easy to use unless there were formatting issues

Some students would prefer to use a laptop rather than a dedicated e-book reader, and the iPod Touch was generally more popular than the Sony as it could do more than simply act as a reader

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Project outcomes Current e-book readers are designed for

reading novels rather than academic texts The functionality needs to improve significantly

before they are of use to students The ways people study mean these devices will

play just a part in overall study patterns Potential for libraries to loan out pre-loaded

readers (but note issues being raised in the USA re. the Kindle)

Potential role for libraries in facilitating and guiding students to find e-book content

Potential for library services to negotiate better licence agreements for commercial e-book content

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Project outcomes Student wish list post-pilot

o Ideal e-book reader would have: Screen between A5 and A4 size Touch screen (possibly with a stylus) Ability to highlight/make notes and other

interactivity Internet access Ability to quickly transfer content direct to the device Lower retail price

o OU could provide: E-book readers with course materials and readings

pre-loaded Help with finding appropriate e-book content Better system for transferring existing course

materials onto devices OU course materials in ePub format (free open e-

book standard) as this is most widely used format

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Is 2010 the year of the e-book?

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/08/ces-ebook-ereader)

Amazon Kindle launched in Europe Apple iPad launched late January 2010 Sales of Kindles and Sony e-readers booming in

the USA (estimated 500,000 Kindles sold worldwide in 2009, similar numbers for Sony)

Sony linking their e-book store with public libraries in the USA to enable direct download to their e-reader from a local library via their library card number (using Overdrive http://www.overdrive.com/)

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Similar e-reader projects Penn State University Library

http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/lls/sony_reader.html Testing the Sony PRS-505

North West Missouri State University

http://www.nwmissouri.edu/services/eTextbooks/index.htm

Princeton Universityhttp://www.princeton.edu/ereaderpilot/eReaderFinalReportShort.pdf

Testing the Amazon Kindle DX

Darden School of Business, University of Virginiahttp://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/standard.aspx?menu_id=72&styleid=2&id=19304

Testing the Amazon Kindle DX

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Big issues Publishers and libraries still working on how e-

textbooks can be made availableo JISC national e-books observatory project

(http://www.jiscebooksproject.org/)o JISC e-textbooks business models study

Once this has been explored mobile e-readers may come into the equation

Manufacturers and content providers for e-readers mainly base use on the one-reader one-book model, for individuals to use not libraries

Technology for e-readers still being developed, no standards yet, not being user tested for student use but for leisure reading

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Wider context and discussion

Questions for you:

o Have you personally used/do you own an e-book reader?

o Does your library/company have any?o How many e-books do you subscribe to?o If library books, are they available for students to

view on e-book readers?o Does your university provide any course materials

in e-book format?

Other questions?

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Photo credits

eBook Reader by goXunuReviews http://www.flickr.com/photos/43602175@N06/4070018828

By theunquietlibrary http://www.flickr.com/photos/theunquietlibrary/4007784305/in/set-72157622654337930/

Final Day by Styler http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellipse/9084106/

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Thanks to…

Liz Mallett, Open University Library and Darran Rowe, Cranfield University who carried out the original project.

You can view a video seminar on the JISC national e-books observatory project and more on this study at:

http://stadium.open.ac.uk/stadia/preview.php?whichevent=1454&s=31