In most instances, online publishing remains a side project for presses as well as bookstores -- a tentative product offered to a somewhat apprehensive digital generation."Students, I don't think they're quite ready to get into the digital course world until the user experience improves," said Pearce.The piece covers a lot of topics touched on before, but is worth reading. I liked the varied perspectives on the topic -- university press, publisher, bookstore, faculty member, and student.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
E-textbooks, piracy, open access, and college stores
There was a long, but interesting piece in the Seattlepi last week about digital textbooks. The primary focus was on the dual challenges of access and affordability. It mentions some of the challenges with digital offerings, particularly those related to the user interface elements. Bryan Pearce, chief executive at the University of Washington Bookstore was interviewed:
