As kids every week we were taken to the school library. An array of books right from informational to comics to novels was spread in front of us and we were asked to choose one from the list. We were given a 40 minute reading time and then stripped us of our priced possession. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we were allowed to keep it for a full whole week. Then it was college time. Library was our second home. Notes and assignments always found their way to the library and there was a huge rush during exam time to grab the right book.
EBooks, then, were still slowly making inroads into the publishing industry in India. Our work was mainly dependent on printed books and even now we find it pretty satisfying. But with the entry of technology into our lives, everything around us in the world has gone digital. Ebooks today is a reality. Many book publishers around the world have found this segment as a lucrative one and have pegged millions behind this form of books. To add to it the entry of Ebook readers like Kindle have set the cash counters ringing. The publishing industry is abuzz with marketing and advertising professionals trying to dig out ways to explore the market and with technologists exploring new techniques and patterns through which these virtual docs could be handled easily by clients. The publishing industry has definitely seen gold and with time this technology will change the perception of reading.
What’s more interesting about Ebooks is its portability. With the ease of storing it on a device as simple and light as a mobile phone, Ebooks has already started occupying space inside the users’ device. Mobile applications are a rage and Ebook publishers have not shied away from creating applications where users can easily download Ebooks, share them and even upload them for others to use through custom made Ebook Libraries. Their ease of use has been a major factor in Ebook getting chosen over printed books.
The shutting shop of Borders bookstore in the US in 2011 marked a change where sales of printed books were on the decline and Ebooks sales were getting higher by the day. In a recent Times of India report, according to a FICCI, India has an estimated 600 million book readers and, with Penguin, the country’s largest English publisher, releasing 250 new titles in digital form. EBooks seem to have found a footing in the country. Though per capita expenditure on books in India is as low as Rs.80 as compared to Rs.4000 in the UK, this figure is expected to see a rise in the near future. Penguin further believes that the usage of technology has increased the future prospects of Ebooks in India.
Though there is still time to predict the outcome of this new form of books, what needs to be seen is the way in which Ebooks make a place in the hearts of Indian readers. Though choosy in nature, Indian have always adopted technology from the west. Hope this too goes the same way.