Thousands of university libraries in the United States have begun to purge millions of books, as their digital catalog expands. These books are often put in storage indefinitely or are simply recycled and sent to the abyss. The main reason this is occuring is due to older books not having been circulated in 20 years … [Read more...]
Cengage Launching an Unlimited Digital Textbook Service
Every semester students are purchasing over $579 dollars in textbooks and some are finding this an expensive proposition. Due to rising tuition fees and the high cost of student housing, many students are buying their textbooks used or pirating them. Cengage is one of the largest textbook publishers in the world and … [Read more...]
Students Still Don’t Interact with Digital as Effectively as Print
The era of the digital native still hasn't morphed to include education, at least not according to new findings from Patricia A. Alexander and Lauren M. Singer. Their study and review of other sources over the past many years find that students might perceive they do better when they use a digital textbook, but the … [Read more...]
Are Digital Textbooks Finally Taking Hold?
We're closing in on nearly a decade since ebooks first moved away from being a niche technology novelty and became a household object. In those early years of the current phase of this digital publishing revolution, ebooks were being hailed as the new frontier of educational publishing. While multiple surveys … [Read more...]
Scholastic Releases Latest Kids’ Reading Report
In celebration of International Literacy Day last week, Scholastic has some great news: kids are reading. Despite the naysayers and gloom and doomers who think the entire juvenile world is too busy with their faces buried in digital devices, the self-response survey indicates that as many as 86% of kids up to age 17 … [Read more...]
BUKU Launches New Unlimited Digital Textbook Program in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is the fastest growing market when it comes to digital publishing. There are a ton of startups and established companies that are taking advantage of gaps in the marketplace. Elly's Choice and Kobo both have unlimited e-book subscription programs. Storytel is enjoying a monopoly when it comes to … [Read more...]
Overdrive is giving away 12 free eBooks this summer
Overdrive is launching their annual Summer Read program where all of the schools that do business with them are able to unlimitedly loan out 12 different titles. These eBooks are available in Canada and the United States from June 7th to August 7th 2017. "By increasing the number of eBooks, we can reach more … [Read more...]
Barnes and Noble Launches 2017 Summer Reading Program
Say what you want about Barnes and Noble's fifty-fifty ration of books to coffee mugs/pens/calendars/candles, but the company keeps one really great program going. Its summer reading program offers kids a free book in exchange for reading eight books over the summer, which on the surface might seem counterintuitive … [Read more...]
Spreading Empathy through Children’s Lit
Children across the state of North Carolina have reason to celebrate their reading skills, thanks to a new initiative from the state library system and OverDrive. The program, launched by N.C. Public Library Directors Association, provides nearly four thousand ebooks, audiobooks, and read-along titles for young … [Read more...]
Pearson Publishing records their biggest loss ever
Pearson is the largest textbook distributor and publisher in the world and they have just recorded a $3.3 billion dollar loss. This has forced them to take drastic steps to get their debt under control, such as selling key assets. Over the course of the past four years Pearson has seen declining revenue as students … [Read more...]
Textbook Publishers Sue Amazon
Three major textbook publishers have filed a subpoena against Amazon Marketplace resellers for counterfeit materials. In a complaint filed in New York federal court earlier this month, the publishers accused the sellers of “hiding behind the anonymity of internet pseudonyms” to profit from unauthorised copies of their … [Read more...]
Pearson is lowering the cost of e-book rentals
Pearson, one of the largest educational publishers in the world is making a serious push towards digital. They are dropping the prices of its e-book rentals and piloting a new program for print textbook rentals. This is been done because they experienced a £180m decline in profits over the course of 2016 and now … [Read more...]