E-book readers for academia

(by lack of inspiration and time: this post was written in Dutch earlier this month)

It seems 2010 will be the year of the e-book (at least for the Netherlands.. we’re always a bit slow on the uptake).  It sure is a nice device for reading novels… I had a change to try an iREX iLiad (version 1/2006 and now an oldie) for a while and it suited me well.

But is an e-book reader of the current generation also the right device for reading digital publications which an average academic library collection holds? I think three aspects should be considered to judge this: 1) which electronic documents can be defined as a scientific e-publication, 2) can they be read on an average e-book reader and 3) is the device suitable for reading scientific publications at all?

PDF, access restrictions and other problems

E-books are electronic (or digital) versions of books. Complete editions of (mostly) regular prints in PDF format or scanned books (embedded) available through a website. But in science it’s (mainly) all about articles..  These are for 99% available in – again – PDF format; actually meant to be read on a computer screen (or to be printed, obviously).

So, first an e-book reader must be capable of reading PDF-format. Almost all e-book readers nowadays are capable of doing this. Screen diameters vary from 5 to 10 inch… ‘size matters’ when reading PDF; it’s read in the closed-in layout of the document. PDF is not as flexible as ePub or Mobipocket-format is. You will need at least a screen with a diameter of 8 to 10 inches to read it comfortably. Another thing is the actual reading of PDF: is a TOC available, zooming, document management e.g. Very important considering usability and user friendliness.

Secondly, the e-book reader needs an internet connection (wifi or 3G) and browser* functionality to view e-books which are embedded in a webpage (I’m not even talking about the VPN necessity (for access) which is possibly needed and impossible to install on e-book readers). Then the problems that rise in different databases.. e.g. Early English Books Online (EEBO) only provides PDF download one page at the time! And only by chapter in EIO-italianistica. There are still some databases which only offer plain text (copying)! Speaking of downloading.. how to get these ‘books’ on your e-book reader. I’ve read a lot of irritation on this topic.

* some readers can… but really… look at this, it looks like Windows 3.0!

Practical use

Reading scientific articles is an active process. Making notes, highlight a piece of text e.g. .. a touchscreen is necessary! (I think – equipped with a 8-10 inch screen- about 4 readers are capable of doing that). In the meanwhile you probably would like to add (type) something to your assignment, paper, thesis or article…. most likely by using a word processor on a computer (!). You will need another device.

Pros or cons?

When speaking of e-book readers the advantages always mentioned are barely interesting for scientific use: reading is very comfortable for the eyes, you can put a really huge pile of books on it, one battery load turns 8000 pages, it weighs nothing and e-books are cheaper to buy…
Furthermore, results published on research on scholarly use of e-book readers are all but positive (I refer to Princeton University (thanks to Een beetje adjunct) and this post on results of EDUCUASE by RE:Gereration).

A non-starter?

Is the e-book reader just a non-starter when it comes to scientific reading? More and more functionalities are added: mp3, 3G, WIFI, touch screen, keyboard.. in fact for a student of scientist – until the mediatablets are fully released – a Netbook will be the best choice as a device for reading scientific e-publications! For example the ASUS Eee PC 1001HA: light weight (1,1 kilos), WIFI (of course), 9 hours on a full battery, 10,1 inch screen and about the same price (in the Netherlands approx. 300 Euros.. (eh..yes..we have to pay the dollar price in euros all the time!).

I think the use of an e-book reader starts and ends with sitting relaxes on a couch reading a novell (or wherever) . Wired agrees..