Library Data


concerned that, in general at least, the process of getting titles onto the iBookstore is too slow and that texts might need to go through similar Apple approval processes – although this remains to be seen. ‘iBooks Author will be easy to access and use, but not as simple as they make it out to be. [It] still requires the creator to own an ISBN in order to publish to the iBookstore, which is not too hard to acquire, but it’s more difficult than just exporting from GarageBand,’ says Matt Mullin, programming director at Digital Book World. So how will academic publishers react to


Apple’s bid for a slice of the textbook market? Some big names, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson have already published digital content on the new platform and, perhaps understandably, the reaction from this group has been glowing. In a recent press release, Genevieve Shore, Pearson’s CIO and director of digital strategy, remarked that these books ‘break new ground in digital and mobile publishing,’ adding that Pearson is ‘delighted with the results and hopes that readers, students, teachers and parents are too.’ Publishing Technology’s Tappuni thinks


that the new tools will push all educational publishers to look at creating their books via Apple’s iBooks 2 with haste in order ‘not to lose market share’ to the publishers who are already signed up. Her belief is that publishers are likely to view them in both positive and negative terms – as a drain on


teams of people – design, editorial, and production people, including in-house staff, vendors, freelancers, and other contractors and developers. The “do it yourself on a Mac” approach doesn’t fit well with this process,’ explains Kasdorf.


He also stresses that serious pricing and contractual issues remain, particularly in relation to Apple’s approach to End User Licensing Agreements (EULA). In sum, his view is that the biggest benefit of these developments for publishers lies in the added impetus it lends to the transition to digital textbooks in general and in how it might spur development by others.


A walled garden? One thing that is sure to ruffle a few feathers in the e-book industry is the fact that Apple has chosen not to use the EPUB 3 digital publishing standard for the new apps. According to Mullin of Digital Book World, publishing for multiple formats has been a major challenge for publishers and this announcement won’t make anything easier. He notes that Apple is incredibly adept at creating true ‘walled gardens’ – ecosystems for apps, e-books, music, and more where publishers can create beautiful products, but which are shut off from the rest of the open web.


‘By refusing to go with EPUB 3 for


iBooks Author, Apple is making it harder for publishers to create once and distribute everywhere,’ he argues.


‘At the moment, there don’t seem to be many new products that have really got students excited about the possibility of digital’ Jane Tappuni


resources and another product they will need to create and manage, but also as another revenue opportunity.


‘Publishers are getting very adept at reacting to their ever-changing market conditions and adding new skill sets to cope,’ she says.


However, according to Apex’s Kasdorf at


least, other publishers might find it harder to get enthusiastic about iBooks Author. The main reason for this is that many textbook publishers may be unable, or unwilling, to limit their books to one device (the iPad) and one retailer (Apple).


‘Major textbooks are created by huge www.researchinformation.info


However, Mullin also admits that in some ways Apple’s new proprietary format may be a boon for companies that create e-books on behalf of publishers – at least partly because it allows them to lend their expertise in an increasingly complicated market. ‘If


Major publishers have already created content for the iPad


purely EPUB 3, they are ‘mostly EPUB 3 under the hood,’ and although they diverge from EPUB 3 in some respects, they ‘by no means undermine EPUB 3 in general.’ ‘If you are a professional publisher, rather than taking the do-it-yourself approach with iBooks Author on a Mac, you will still want to prepare your content as EPUB 3 and then adapt it as appropriate for iBooks 2 – depending on what features of iBooks 2 you actually need for your specific titles,’ he says. In general though, Kasdorf strongly believes


that EPUB 3 is still the best


format for publishers to create for all these purposes – knowing that at the present time each of these platforms will require some modification to ‘adapt EPUB 3 files as necessary.’


‘I think this will spur more development of this kind of advanced interactive functionality, and I hope most of the industry recognises the benefit of doing that development in a standards-based way. Every publisher I talk to wants EPUB 3 to succeed, and resents developments that seem to undermine it,’ he adds. Meanwhile, Tappuni of Publishing


Technology has similar predications. Her best guess is that companies currently working with publishers to create e-books will continue to do so, but that publishers will use the iBooks Author tool themselves to manage the process. ‘Competition is good for the consumer and


reader, it will mean they will also have to find ways of helping publishers and authors to create engaging, high-quality content for their audiences,’ she says.


Whatever happens, it is difficult to deny


a publisher wants to be in all marketplaces, they’ll want a partner who understands the technical eccentricities of each device and format,’ he says. When the dust settles though, the publishing industry might well find a good deal of common ground between EPUB 3 and the Apple format. Kasdorf of Apex thinks that, although the new tools are not


that the Apple move is a key development in the ongoing evolution of the e-book publishing industry. However, whether or not it will help to catalyse a smooth transition to the broader adoption of digital textbooks remains to be seen.


Andrew Williams is a technology and business journalist


APR/MAY 2012 Research Information 15


ANALYSIS


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