[DonaldL.]

Academic ebooks can succeed but publishers must play their part

The electronic revolution is edging its way into the classroom. The ebook is here, but it is not so obvious yet that it is here to stay. At a recent seminar, alongside the shiny new hardbacks and marked-up photocopies, a few ebook readers were to be seen.

All was going swimmingly until someone mentioned a passage on a particular page. The ebook users looked up in panic. Their ebooks had no page numbers and there was no obvious way of correlating what appeared on the screen with the real thing. From then on, the ebook devices were powered down and their owners sheepishly peered over the shoulders of their classmates.