Aptara has released the results from an e-book survey that included over 300 U.S. publishers across the Trade, Professional, and Educational markets. The survey found that 53 percent of education/university publishers and 60 percent of K-12 education publishers are currently offering titles in e-book format. In addition, 55 percent of education/university publishers and 53 percent of K-12 education publishers who do not currently offer e-books plan to produce and distribute e-books in the near future.
In regards to the importance of e-books, 47 percent of both education/university publishers and K-12 education publishers said that e-books are of high importance to their company’s strategy and growth plans, and another 31 percent of education/university publishers and 20 percent of K-12 education publishers said that e-books are of moderate importance. These statistics show that education publishers are responding to the increased demand for e-books and are beginning to recognize the importance of e-books in their future plans.
Another interesting finding from the survey showed that the Apple iPhone is more popular for reading e-books than single purpose devices such as the Kindle and Sony Reader. Aptara suggests that publishers should recognize the importance of creating device-independent e-books. If consumers can access e-books on any device they prefer, publishers will be able to make their catalogs available to the largest audience possible.
