Huge transition to digital textbooks in 2020 8 October 2021 (Publishers Weekly)
(PR) OverDrive Acquires TeachingBooks.net 7 October 2021 (PRNewswire)
Higher education sector calls on publishers to remove barriers to provision of e-books and e-textbooks 6 October 2021 (News Anyway) The partners aim to work constructively and actively with publishers and suppliers to ensure affordable and sustainable models that support student and academic needs and maximise efficiencies across the supply chain.
NPD Research: Soaring E-books Sales Fall Back to Earth 6 October 2021 (PRWeb) For the year-to-date through June 2021, unit sales declined by 8%, versus last year, but sales were still 8% higher than they were in 2019 before the pandemic … e-books account for 18% of sales, or more than one in six books sold.
Germany’s Inkitt Raises $59M 5 October 2021 (Tech Times) NEA and Axel Springer invested, along with Michael Lynton, Chairman of Snap, and Stefan von Holtzbrinck of Holtzbrinck Digital. The online service aims to bring new e-books and other forms of written media online. People are focusing more on its integration with readily available smartphones and devices. Not only that, its content would focus more on original content and features from renowned artists that brought their masterpieces to the platform.
Storytel’s Skeppstedt made director at Sesamy 5 October 2021 (The Bookseller) Lotten Skeppstedt has been appointed director of books and podcasts at Sesamy, a Swedish platform for subscription-free audiobooks and e-books. Skeppstedt said, “While digital books are becoming the primary source of income for creators and publishers worldwide, accelerated by lockdowns, how people discover, purchase, consume and store digital books deserves to be improved. Sesamy is determined to make the user journey a whole lot more exciting and rewarding, empowering both the creators and their fan base to engage in — and spread — great stories.”
Study finds association between screen time and short-sightedness 5 October 2021 (The Lancet) A meta-analysis of studies of smartphone and tablet exposure and myopia in children and young adults (aged 3 months to 33 years). Smart device screen time alone or in combination with computer use is significantly associated with myopia.
62% of College Students Prefer Printed Textbooks 30 September 2021 (Printing Impressions) This represents a 10% decline in print textbook preference since 2015, when 72% of students reported favoring print textbooks, but it doesn’t mean students are embracing e-textbooks. Despite the growing e-textbook market, student preference for e-textbooks increased by just 2% from 2015 (27%) to 2021 (29%), while the number of students who have no preference increased by nearly 8% over that same period.
Latvian government agrees to reduce VAT for books and printed press to 5% 30 September 2021 (Baltic News Network) The Ministry of Culture notes it is necessary to reduce VAT for books and printed press to 5% in order to promote their accessibility in Latvia, stabilize numbers and prices.
Over 50% of UK university students now use Kortext e-learning materials 30 September 2021 (FE News) “This week’s announcement comes as Kortext revealed it is now available in over 120 universities across the UK, with Wolverhampton, Bournemouth and Chester, the most recent partnerships announced. James Gray, CEO of Kortext said: “Always accessible e-learning materials have been essential for students since the beginning of the pandemic.”
Educational Publishers Obtain Preliminary Injunction Against 60 Illegal Websites 27 September 2021 (BusinessWire)
US Senate Finance Committee Presses Publishers on Library Ebook Contracts 24 September 2021 (Book Riot)
Boon for Ebooks (?) as the Print Supply Chain Bogs Down 17 September 2021 (Quartz)
[Opinion, obviously]Ebooks Are an Abomination 15 September 2021 (The Atlantic)
More Ebook Industry News (back to Aug 2017)
