Inside Higher Ed. reports that a number of university presses are making their books available for digital downloading onto the Amazon Kindle - among them Princeton University Press, Yale University Press, Oxford University Press and the University of California Press - and the number of scholarly books is growing rapidly. Neither the presses nor Amazon would discuss the financial arrangements but said that they were revenue-sharing deals, and that preparing the books for release on Kindle was not particularly burdensome or expensive.
The article notes that illustrations aren't included in the books due to copyright issues, so books that benefit from illustrations (art books, for example) aren't available for the Kindle yet.
1 comment:
As a recent undergraduate and current graduate student, this is outstanding! I have been waiting for the digital textbook, whether downloaded to the laptop/computer or now, downloaded to a device like the Kindle, to take flight.
Students spend so much money on hard copy textbooks and reading materials, and often have to carry them all around which is not convenient or easy to do. Digital textbooks on the Kindle will make it so quick and easy for students to access any of their books or other resources whenever and wherever they need them.
I, myself, am a Kindle champion, and all in all, while $359 for this device plus the cost of the books etc. seems high, you are getting a great deal of value out of it. I can't wait for the textbooks to be offered for my courses at graduate school.
I recommend this to anyone and everyone, but especially for students considering this good news!
For more info on the Kindle, visit http://www.prokindle.com!
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