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The academic publishing world is, quite possibly, not the first thing that most people would think of when considering innovative technology. Nevertheless, it is this, very traditional, area which seems to be championing huge changes in the way that books are read.

The Amazon Kindle ebook reader was first launched in November 2007. At that time, it didn’t really register in the academic community. When the new Kindle 2 was released in February 2009 there was perhaps a little more interest – but not that much.

It was only with the announcement of Amazon’s Kindle DX that it became clear that our reading habits were about to be subject to major modification. The large screen of the DX, coupled with its native pdf file handling ability, made it ideal for academic textbooks containing large quantities of graphs and pictures.

It didn’t take long for educational institutions to realise that they could potentially save money by making use of digital textbooks and e-book readers. With no costs for paper or ink, and with no distribution fees such as might be necessary for a physical book, e-books are considerably less expensive than the traditional equivalent. Significant financial economies could be made by colleges and schools by moving to digital textbooks.

In addition to financial considerations, updating of electronic media is much faster and easier. Currently, there is an average gap of seven years between revisions of standard textbooks. A change to digital textbooks would allow much more frequent revision and help to keep textbooks up to date and current.

Another benefit which is of interest to many academic establishments is the environmental aspects of electronic books and e-book readers. Even considering the materials used in the manufacture of the readers and the electricity required to operate them they are much more eco-friendly than the normal paper based alternative.

All in all, digital textbooks make a lot of sense. They are already being introduced in many schools, colleges and universities and, considering all of the benefits listed above, their use can be expected to grow rapidly in the very near future.

Discover the Kindle book reader – and learn how you can save money by downloading free Kindle ebooks.

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