Ingram’s Vital Source digital textbook platform has just announced that they have implemented EPUB 3 compatibility with their flagship Bookshelf platform. They are now officially the first company specializing in eTextbooks that has support for the new form of digital books. The company now boasts a user base of 2.2 million users in 6,000 campuses in 180 countries.
The new EPUB 3 version, based on HTML5, supports rich media, interactivity, global languages, and enhanced accessibility features. As publishers develop e-books that include rich media and interactive applications for the education community, more are turning to Vital Source because of its comprehensive EPUB readiness to create, enhance, and distribute content to institutions, educators and students worldwide.
Vital Source can accept and deliver EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 content to institutional partners around the world through its Bookshelf platform. Fast becoming the de facto standard within the e-reading sector, the VitalSource platform supports EPUB across all six clients including browser, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Kindle Fire.
“EPUB 3, based on HTML5 and the latest Web Standards, marks a major leap forward in EPUB’s capabilities for delivering rich, interactive experiences that enable learning materials to engage learners and foster improved outcomes” said Bill McCoy, Executive Director, International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). “Vital Source has been a major supporter of the IDPF, and I’m especially pleased to welcome Vital Source as one of the first implementers of EPUB 3”.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
