Afar Print

Abstract

The growth and development of reader appliances and to get better improvement of screen expertise have made reading on screens less burdensome. The acts of reading are not univocal, as read in many diverse ways with many different target in mind. Reader software can afford different levels of steering support for the exploitation of digital text, presenting potentialities for systematic reading not available in the print-on-paper reading experience and compensating for lack of compass reading and feeling of invincible dominance of text. The parameters of e-text reading and the issues of access remain central to readers and researchers, whether the electronic text is devised and packaged as an “e-book” for portable reading devices, or be located in a server for distribution to library terminals to be downloaded to desktop PCs, laptops or tablet PCs. The power and functionality of reading software – note-taking, highlighting and indexing capabilities, robust open searching across databases – are ultimately linked to open access issues: interoperability, text standards, and digital rights management. These remain key questions for libraries, publishers and researchers.