BibliU uses Gardners fulfilment service
14 Apr 2021 (FE News)
The new relationship means Gardners fulfilment services will allow BibliU to supply print-based learning resources to its clients as required.
The Kindle can now display book covers on the lock screen
12 Apr 2021 (Good E-Reader)
Amazon is apparently slowing pushing the cover art update to international markets first, at the time of publication people in India, Mexico and other countries have verified it is working. It is only a matter of time before the feature is available in Canada, United States and United Kingdom.
Pavillion Ebook Sales Up 94 Per Cent
06 Apr 2021 (The Bookseller)
UK turnover fell 13% on the previous year, though the company saw an increase of 11% in the US. A sizeable proportion of the printed book business was previously based on heritage and gift stores, which were closed for the majority of the year.
Publishers may be compelled to license ebooks to public libraries in Maryland
02 Apr 2021 (Publishers Weekly)
A Maryland state bill that would ensure public libraries the right to license and lend e-books that are available to consumers is headed to Governor Larry Hogan’s desk.
Booksellers File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon, Publishers
28 Mar 2021 (The Digital Reader)
The second shot in law firm Hagens Berman fight against Amazon has been fired. The firm put out a press release on Thursday announcing that they had found booksellers willing to sue Amazon over an alleged conspiracy with publishers.
ABA Releases Report Detailing Amazon’s Anti-competitive Behavior
17 Mar 2021 (BookWeb)
“Amazon’s anti-competitive conduct extends to the pricing of its proprietary e-book reader and tablet, the Kindle and Fire, which are ‘loss leaders,’ meaning products priced at or below cost to stimulate the sale of more profitable goods or services. Amazon’s intent is to leave consumers with no alternative but to purchase e-books and other products from Amazon, rather than its competitors, regardless of price.”
Scribd Launches in Australia With a Monthly All-You-Can-Consume Subscription Service
17 Mar 2021 (Broadsheet)
At $14.00 it goes up against Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service, which is also $13.99 per month and includes more than one million titles, but doesn’t include audiobooks.
Small children damned to ignorance if they read ebooks
16 Mar 2021 (New York Times)
Print, [the expert] said, makes it easier for parents and children to interact with language, questions and answers, what is called “dialogic reading.” Further, many apps and e-books have too many distractions…
Digital books can harm learning skills of young readers, research shows
15 Mar 2021 (Study Finds)
Researchers found overall, however, that early readers are less likely to understand picture books when they read the digital version. But the findings, published in the journal Review of Educational Research, show that when digital picture books contain the right enhancements that reinforce the story content, they actually outperform their print counterparts.
Are NFTs (Non-Fungeable Tokens) the future of ebook copyright control?
15 Mar 2021 (Copyright and Technology)
… Ebook schemes can use DRM along with NFTs for identification of ownership. This is essentially the same as a traditional DRM scheme, except that the transaction records and identifiers sit on a blockchain instead of in some vendor’s private database. These schemes support alienation (resale, giveaway, loan)…
See also: What Is This NFT Hype All About?
Amazon Blocks Libraries from Lending eBooks
12 Mar 2021 (Good E-Reader)
The company has acknowledged to Washington Post that they do not permit ebooks from any of their Amazon Publishing titles to be distributed by libraries or borrowed by patrons.
Amazon reveals why it doesn’t sell the e-books and audiobooks it publishes to libraries
11 Mar 2021 (Business Insider)
“It’s not clear to us that current digital library lending models fairly balance the interests of authors and library patrons.”
BibliU appoints former Intel exec as chairman
10 Mar 2021 (Business Cloud)
Former Intel, Vodafone and Seagate executive Mark Whitby has been appointed chair of EdTech firm BibliU. The London company has developed a platform allowing universities and colleges around the world to provide digital content including textbooks to their students.
‘This is the best time in publishing ever,’ says Markus Dohle
10 Mar 2021 (Atlantic Council)
Consumers stuck at home due to the pandemic are spending more money on books than ever before; global literacy rates and the general population are rising; physical and digital books share a “healthy co-existence”.
More Ebook Industry News (back to Aug 2017)
![E-books, downloaded music and other digital products aren’t covered by Australian consumer law. [Shutterstock]](https://i2.wp.com/about.ebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/file-20180220-116365-1tkqbl91.jpg?resize=218%2C150&ssl=1 "Australia’s consumer laws still don’t cover ebooks")
