Thanks to Liz

Thank you to Liz Hains for her contributions to The CITE over the past 2 years. Liz has increasingly handled most of the blog postings and was a great member of our team. Her contributions helped the blog grow past the 50k reader point this year.

Liz was offered and accepted a position with another organization that will be an excellent career move for her. While we search for a replacement, and with the pending holidays, there will be fewer posts for a few weeks. I want to take this opportunity to thank our loyal readers and welcome readers new to the blog.

There are many things happening in this space and with this change in staffing we are looking at a number of opportunities and ways to increase the value of this blog in the year ahead. While postings may be sparse for the next two weeks, we plan to get back up to regular posting speed after the new year. Best wishes to all for the holidays.

-M

October 2010 e-book sales statistics

E-book sales statistics for October 2010 have been released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Trade e-book sales were $40.7 million, a 112.4% increase over October 2009. AAP reports year-to-date e-book sales are up 171.3%. Note: These figures represent the trade book publishers who have been willing to supply their data.

Gartner’s e-reader predictions

An article from ElectronicsWeekly.com discusses some stats from a new Gartner study. Gartner predicts that e-reader sales will reach 6.6 million units in 2010, an increase of 79.8 percent from 2009. In 2011, sales could surpass 11 million units which would be a 68.3 percent increase from 2010.

Gartner says that e-readers will need to maintain a price advantage because few consumers are likely to buy both an e-reader and a tablet.

iPad pilots at CDI College and the University of Houston

An article from Campus Technology discusses the iPad pilots that are occurring at CDI College in Canada and the University of Houston in Texas. At CDI College, the iPad pilot aims to help students in the nursing and business programs develop technology skills for their future roles in the workplace. At the University of Houston, professors have developed an iPad app for a communications course that includes: learning modules, video lectures, course materials, presentations, tutorials, and simulations. The pilot aims to obtain feedback for a program that helps faculty integrate technology into the curriculum. In addition, a survey will be conducted to evaluate the impact of the devices on learning, class attendance, and study habits.

More information about the pilots can be found here.

Children’s Reading Trends in the Digital Age

On Tuesday, December 14th, Book Business will be hosting a free webinar that you may find interesting. The webinar is called: “Children’s Reading Trends in the Digital Age: An All-Access Pass to Scholastic’s ‘2010 Kids and Family Reading Report.’”

The registration page for the webinar can be found here.

Interview with James McQuivey, Forrester Research

The Beyond the Book website features an interesting discussion with James McQuivey, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, about the events that have occurred in the publishing industry over the last year and what we can expect in the future as e-readers and e-books take off.

The audio of the discussion is available here.

Apple and News Corp to create digital newspaper for iPad only

According to a posting on Mashable.com, Apple and News Corp are preparing to launch The Daily, a news publication that will only be available via an app on the iPad. The publication is expected to launch in early 2011 and could provide consumers with a new type of reading experience that incorporates video and utilizes the iPad’s sophisticated technical capabilities. This could give the publication capabilities beyond what other newspapers and websites currently offer.

Smartphones and tablets will become mainstream in 2011

The IDC research firm has released a new report that includes sales predictions for smartphones and tablets. According to a posting on the NY Times Bits Blog, IDC predicts that in 2011 the devices will become mainstream and there will be 330 million smartphones and 42 million tablets sold worldwide. IDC also says that half of the 2.1 billion people who regularly use the Internet will access it from non-PC devices next year.

Online enrollments continue to exceed overall higher education enrollments

An article from Campus Technology discusses the results from research regarding online education that was conducted by Babson Survey Research Group and the College Board, and was funded by The Sloan Consortium. The groups have been conducting research since 2002 and this year’s survey included 2,500 colleges and universities across the U.S. The survey found that online enrollments continue to grow substantially faster than overall higher education enrollments. The results show that 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall 2009 semester. This is an increase of nearly one million students from the fall 2008 semester. It also represents a twenty-one percent growth rate which greatly exceeds the less than two percent growth rate for the overall higher education student population.

The survey also found that over three-quarters of academic leaders at public institutions, 55.4 percent of private nonprofits, and 67 percent of for-profits believe that online learning is as good as or better than face-to-face instruction.

For more information, the full report can be found here.

Google eBooks launches

Today Google launched its online bookstore called Google eBooks. Up until this point, the program has been referred to as Google Editions. According to an article from Wired, the e-book store will have about 2.8 million books that are no longer under copyright and were scanned through the Google Books project. The store will have another 200,000 books that have been licensed from publishers. Users will be able to read the books on Apple devices, Barnes & Noble Nooks, Sony E-readers, and computers. The books will not be accessible on the Amazon Kindle because of compatibility issues.

In addition, Google has partnered with some independent bookstores to allow them to sell e-books on their websites and share the revenue. Google also plans to add social networking features and says it has the infrastructure in place to let consumers purchase digital and paper copies in a bundle.

James Crawford, an engineer for Google eBooks, noted, “The idea is that you buy where you are and read on devices you already own. We are committed to open structure, and building up a wider and wider retailer network.”

The Google ebookstore can be found here.

Fairfield Public Library’s Technology Petting Zoo

Here is an example of a library that is making technologies available to patrons via a Technology Petting Zoo. Fairfield Public Library in Connecticut has an Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Sony Reader on display so that patrons can test out the devices before purchasing their own. Library personnel are also available to answer questions about the devices. The library plans to add additional devices as they become available to help its patrons become more informed consumers.

Recyclable Laptop

Wired Campus recently featured an interesting story about a prototype of a recyclable laptop that was created by graduate students at Stanford University and Aalto University in Finland. Many of the computer components can be recycled along with other household items while the screen and circuit board need to be sent to separate recycling facilities. According to the article, there are some small technical hurdles that need to be worked out before the computer can be produced.

Survey finds 21 percent of book buyers own an e-reading device

A recent Publishers Weekly article discusses the results from the Codex Group’s national book shopper survey. The survey found that 21 percent of book shoppers now own a dedicated e-reader or tablet. This increase can be attributed to the launch of the iPad and the decrease in the price of the Kindle. By next summer, Codex estimates that 36 percent of adult readers will own devices.

The survey also found that 26 percent of adult book buyers already read digital books and an additional 34 percent of book buyers are willing to try digital books. This means that up to 60 percent of all adult book readers could choose to read in digital format. Another 14 percent of adult book buyers said that they would never read a book in digital format.

To read more about the survey, you can view the article here.

Alibris launches site optimized for mobile devices that will make textbook shopping easier

Earlier this week, Alibris, an online retailer of textbooks, books, movies, and music, announced that it has launched a new website that is optimized for smartphones and tablets. The new site could make it easier for students to comparison shop and make textbooks purchases from their devices.

Jeanie Bunker, general manager of Alibris Retail, commented, “We know our student buyers often check textbook prices from multiple sources before they buy, so having a mobile site is the best way for them to shop on the go.”

Smarthistory interactive art history textbook

The Chronicle recently featured an article about an interactive online art-history textbook that we discussed in a posting last year. The online textbook is called Smarthistory and it is an ongoing effort by Beth Harris, professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Steven Zuker, Chairperson of History of Art and Design at the Pratt Institute.

The project began in 2005 and has evolved into an intuitive reference website that features an interactive timeline with images that link to videos. The site also includes links, maps, and photos to engage the users. According to the article, the project has been winning honors and more than 70 universities and colleges either use or recommend Smarthistory. A listing of the institutions can be found here.

In the future, similar websites for other disciplines could be modeled after this idea.

Will the second generation iPad be released early next year?

A recent article from MacNewsWorld discusses the rumors about when the next iPad will be released and the capabilities that it will include.

Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day

On Saturday, December 4, the first Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day will be held. Blogger and creator of the day, Jenny Milchman, hopes that it will encourage families to bring their children to a bookstore so that they can see all that the physical store has to offer. For more information visit: http://www.takeyourchildtoabookstore.org/.

Holiday Gift Guide to eReaders

eBookNewser has compiled a Holiday Gift Guide to eReaders that you may find helpful. It features a listing of all the e-readers and tablets that are on the market this holiday season. The guide includes a little bit of information about each and the associated price tag.

e-readers expected to be a top seller this holiday season

E-readers are expected to be a popular gift this holiday season and many e-reader companies have expanded the distribution of their devices to stores like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. In addition, Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble, have come up with new ways to promote their devices on the web or in the stores.

In an article from The New York Times, Peter Hildick-Smith, president of the Codex Group, says, “This is the tipping-point season for e-readers, there’s no question. A lot more books are going to be sold in e-book format. It also means that a lot fewer people are going to be shopping in bookstores.”

Forrester Research predicts that about nine million e-readers are currently in circulation in the United States and this could increase to 10.3 million after the holidays.

As mentioned previously, according to a survey by the Consumer Electronics Association, e-readers rank fifth on the holiday wish lists of adults.

iPads assist disabled users

Here is an inspiring story and video from The New York Times about a boy with a degenerative disease that has been able to interact with an iPad. His mother says it is the first device that they have had success with and it is far cheaper than other devices they have tried. In addition, because the apps are inexpensive they can experiment to see which ones are the most beneficial.

The article notes that there are studies in progress to determine how effective the iPad is for people with disabilities. In the months since the iPad has been on the market, it has already become a popular device for assisting the disabled but the usefulness of the device depends on the specific disability. In the coming months, we can expect that additional apps will be created and added to the app store to assist disabled users.