As a former school librarian, I have always been curious about the e-book revolution but never had the time to research it.  This assignment provided me with such an opportunity.  A lover of children’s literature, I must admit that I am skeptical that any form of technology could replace the beautifully illustrated picture books.  However, there may be a niche for the e-book, but I don’t think it could ever replace the feel of a book in my hand!

At first glance, I found the first wave of e-books included the Rocket eBook (covered by Cynthia Clark) and the SoftBook, which I will discuss further.  However, Everybook’s EB Dedicated Reader will soon address some of the pitfalls created by the first wave e-books. Interesting enough, I had been reading about the GemBook which was due to be online on May 21 of this year but further investigation found no sign of the e-book and its website www.gembook.com has nothing to do with the product!  Obviously, this is a dynamic market with constant developments.

 First, here are some basics:
Terminology: (from http://dmoz.org/Computers/E-Books/faq.html)
• e-book-electronic book readers, known as slates, but also electronic book titles
• e-book reader-a hardware device (in some cases, software) that allows reading of books stored in electronic form
• e-book title-any book or title published in electronic form, specifically for the purpose of being read on an e-book reader

Who Makes It and How It May Be Obtained
Electronic book publishers, including Everybook, Librius.com, NuvoMedia, SoftBook Press, are building up catalogs of fiction and nonfiction for distribution by electronic bookstores, working out royalty rates and distribution formats for electronic publishers and manufacturing the handheld hardware.
 

What It Does
The SoftBook is a tablet device, lightweight, able to store large quantities of data, comfortable to hold, read just as easily as printed books are today.  More specifically, the SoftBook stores the equivalent of 5,000 pages (8MB) and is capable of expanding to 50,000 pages with optional Flash memory cards.

The Advantages
(1) selection and availability (no such thing as an out-of-print title)
(2) extensive reading tools:  searching, bookmarking, hyperlinking, text markup and a stylus for marking and highlighting
(3) the 14-point font is more easily read than that of paperback books
 (4) large amount of material in a small package
 (5) saves paper
 (6) read one page at a time:  pages may be “thumbed” forward and backwards
 (7) provides an automatic back light that makes it easy to read in low light locations
 (8) is durable with no moving parts and weighs only 2.9 pounds
 (9) Microsoft Word documents may be published to the reader.

The Cost
SoftBookPress is currently offering two purchase options:  a one time payment of $599.95, or a one time payment of $299.95 plus the purchase of a $19.95 per month content package for 24 months. Both purchase options include the following:
(1) SoftBook Reader complete with protective cover, lithium-ion battery
(2) AC Adapter, telephone cord
(3) Twelve month limited warranty
(4) Local dial-up access to the SoftBookstore from anywhere in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Canada.
(5) Access to 100 literary classics at no additional charge.
(6) Personal Documents Option free for 90 days - providing the capability to send documents you create to your personal bookshelf and easily download them to your SoftBook Reader.
(7) Free daily front page news from national news services
(8) Toll-Free customer service

Hardware and Software Requirements
The internal workings of the SoftBook Reader are simply a specialized computer.  However, there are no software packages to install, no keyboard, no documentation to wade through, and no special commands to remember. The screen has the following specifications: 6"w x 8"h, (9.5"diagonal), grayscale, backlit, touch-sensitive LCD, 14 inch Bookman font.   While there is no installation required, the unit comes with a built-in 33.6 kbps modem that enables the downloading of approximately 100 pages per minute.  Business editions are now available which not only have a modem but also Ethernet connectivity.  The user then has the option of downloading updates via the telephone lines or a network environment with a faster T-1 line.  For power, a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack will provide a maximum of 5 hours of reading with recharging taking about an hour. In order to continue the reading experience, the battery pack may by removed and another one easily inserted.  There is also an AC power adapter included.

A Potential Educational Use
(1) A general advantage for schools would involve the updating of textbooks.  Currently, school districts have to alternate years for textbook considerations and purchase due to the large expense of replacing an entire grade level of books.  Each student could purchase a reader at the beginning of his school career and then it could be updated with a download.
(2) The ability for e-book publishers to provide schools with any previously out-of-print titles.  Students could be exposed to 20th century authors and their writings, for example.  The storage format enables large amounts of information to be included with the book, such as a dictionary.
(3) For a teacher who now copies and collates student packets of chapters from books (with or without the publisher’s permission), the e-reader would provide the opportunity for teacher creation of customized editions for students.  Consequently, the publishers would benefit from the compensation.
(4) Unfortunately, the screen does not run the gamut when changing the font type or size. The font size can be increased by one size but that is it.   Visually impaired students could benefit from such a format with the size of type and backlighting being fully adjustable.  Some critics say the 14-point font is a bit jagged.  Plans in the future should also include audiobook technology, which would certainly assist special needs students as well.

Whether Needed Resources Are Available in Typical Schools
The biggest obstacle would certainly be financial resources.  For example to provide one SoftBook Reader for each of 800 students, would cost $480,000 or would the parents have to pay an exorbitant fee?  In addition, in one payment plan, the home consumer pays a $20 fee to “subscribe” to the SoftBook file server for updates and downloads.  The $600 cost covers 24 months of downloads.  How would that translate to a school setting?  After 24 months, then what?  Another point to consider would be the battery life.  Even today’s laptops in schools present challenges when the entire class is utilizing the hardware and the batteries begin giving low power messages.  Would a similar situation occur with the e-book reader?  The logistics of battery recharging alone could be a nightmare! While the e-book is very promising, the previously mentioned concerns will have to be worked out before the technology makes an appearance in the classroom. Schools may need to wait until the third or fourth wave before they are able to benefit from this exciting emerging technology.

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