E-book Platforms Research Articles

Perceptions of Parents on Raz-Kid' s Role in Enhancing Students' Micro and Macro-Skills Holistically: A Study on Ishik Brayaty International Primary School in Erbil

Many educational institutions globally have adopted the motto of technology-enriched education. Among others, e-books have come to the forefront with technological developments. Accordingly, e-book apps have gained increasing popularity due to their numerous advantages. Although many studies have been conducted on e-book platforms’ effectiveness on a global scale, Raz-Kid’s influence on students’ macro and micro-skill development has not been studied in the context of Iraq. Bearing this fact in mind, this study is an endeavor to explore parents’ perceptions about a well-known e-reading app, Raz-Kids, in Erbil, Iraq, on students attending Ishik Brayaty International Primary School in the 2023–2024 academic year. Through convenience sampling, 100 parents uncovered their genuine opinions in a mixed-methods research design study. Data were gathered via questionnaire and interview, and analyzed by either SPSS 29 or NVivo. Findings demonstrated that Raz-Kids has the limitless potential to increase students’ linguistic skills holistically. In addition, parents’ and teachers’ encouragement has been considered as the triggering force to increase students’ reading rates. The study’s findings may have certain implications for the stakeholders who plan to integrate means of technology into the curriculum in a balanced way. Thus, some rational steps can be taken to eliminate the negative impacts of technology and highlight the positive aspects via well-designed e-book reading apps and more.

The Role of E-Books in Improving Learning Achievement of Integrated Islamic Junior High School Students

At this time the world of education has depended on technology and the internet, all education personnel utilize technology as a tool in the teaching and learning process. Likewise, the role of E-books in improving student achievement at school at this time. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of E-books in improving student achievement by applying E-book media as an innovative learning media. The type of research method used is a quantitative method with a survey model and distributes online-based questionnaires via google form. Researchers hope that the results of the research conducted can increase student understanding through the E-book platform as a support in improving learning achievement. The conclusion of this study is that the role of E-books for students can help in improving student learning achievement. Therefore, the limitation of this research is that researchers only conduct online surveys and are not conducted thoroughly only in certain schools, researchers hope that future researchers can conduct research in other schools to make it more effective and efficient.

Integrated Library Management System

Traditional library management systems often suffer from a lack of automation, resulting in inefficient processes and limited user engagement, with cataloguing, book transactions, and user interactions remaining manual. This hindrance hampers the seamless functioning of libraries in an era dominated by digital innovation, ultimately leading to a diminished library experience for both librarians and patrons. The aim of this project is to revolutionize library management by designing and implementing an efficient and user-friendly Integrated Library Management System (ILMS). The focus lies in addressing the shortcomings of existing systems through the incorporation of modern technologies, fostering automation, and enhancing user engagement. The primary objective is to elevate user engagement through a virtual bookshelf, seamless integration with E-book platforms, and improved accessibility features in the ILMS. By providing users with a more immersive and personalized experience, the ILMS aims to bridge the gap between traditional library services and the expectations of users in the digital age.

From User Behavior to Subscription Sales: An Insight Into E-Book Platform Leveraging Customer Segmentation and A/B Testing

E-book platforms have gained popularity due to their affordability, portability, and extensive title selection. This study analyzes customer behavior based on their platform activities before the launch of a subscription service and investigates strategies to boost subscription plan adoption. To achieve this, we employ customer segmentation through a clustering algorithm to examine customer behavior. Subsequently, we track customer behavior in two distinct groups: RFM and proposed features, regarding their engagement with purchased plans via A/B testing. The results indicate that the conversion rates for the proposed features outperform the RFM model in experiments by 0.42% (2072 customers) and 0.54% (27 customers).

Fan-Fiction, Liebesgeschichten, Erzählungen über Deportationen und Konzentrationslager: Eine Skizze zur digitalen Literatur über den Holocaust und Nationalsozialismus auf der Online-Plattform Wattpad

E-book platforms, such as Wattpad (wattpad.com) offer authors and readers, often rather young, the opportunity to publish their own stories on a wide varietyof topics and in different genre categories, e.g., fanfiction, time travel, love stories. Hundreds of texts in numerous languages and in different phases of creation and editing are to be found on Wattpad under the keywords Holocaust and National Socialism. This article introduces some examples of the wide range of texts and shows their form and content. Finally, the article seeks to point outsome aspects that make it worthwhile to take a closer look at these texts from a literary and didactic point of view and to investigate whether some of these texts, which have been largely ignored by literary and didactic studies so far, may be used for educational purposes.

The Importance of e-Book Platforms in Education

Many people have considered purchasing a tablet device, such as an iPad, Kindle, or Nook, for personal use, yet how many have considered adopting this new technology as a pedagogical tool in the classroom? This article presents the complexity of e-book platforms from Romania in comparison with Amazon, FNAC, or Springer and how they are being used in Romanian market. Moreover, the analysis through criteria comparison will show which strategies are mostly used by students. The result of the research and analysis had shown us the fact that the number of e-books used are increasing in Romania and online platforms are using different strategies in order to promote the digitalization of print books, especially in education and professional documents. What helps people to trust e-books more are the tutorials of using or editing them

Effects of BookRoll E-Book Platform in Flipped Classroom Supported Software Engineering Course on Students’ Learning Performance

Effects of BookRoll E-Book Platform in Flipped Classroom Supported Software Engineering Course on Students’ Learning Performance

CELUS One

CELUS One is a software-as-a-service product that uses SUSHI protocol to harvest COUNTER usage statistics from library e-journal platforms, e-book platforms, and databases. It also includes tools for analyzing COUNTER 4 and COUNTER 5 statistics by way of reports, charts, and graphs. CELUS One's interface and usability are its most noticeable strengths. The simple design of the main dashboard is easy to interpret and manipulate. Librarians can view the status of monthly SUSHI harvests and manage the SUSHI credentials for each platform. Librarians can use CELUS One to analyze subscriptions, justify purchasing decisions, and demonstrate the value of their library. The product is relatively simple to learn and navigate. The design is intuitive, and the graphics are better than those of similar products.

Understanding COUNTER 5 metrics in context: a case study on E-book vendor usage reports

This study examines the effectiveness of the COUNTER 5 metrics relating to e-book usage reporting. Through three simulated processes on two major e-book platforms, EBSCOhost and ProQuest Ebook Central, the authors were able to gain insights into how usage was counted at item level within each e-book platform. The study finds that both vendors followed the principles of COUNTER 5 standard in usage reporting. Nevertheless, the result of data analysis also suggests that the difference in platform design between the two vendors had a direct impact on how usage was counted, thus affected the total outcome of e-book usage reports.

EBook Technology Facilitating University Education During COVID-19: Japanese Experience

UNESCO reported that 90% of students are affected in some way by COVID-19 pandemic. Like many countries, Japan too imposed emergency remote teaching and learning at both school and university level. In this study, we focus on a national university in Japan, and investigate how teaching and learning were facilitated during this pandemic period using an ebook platform, BookRoll, which was linked as an external tool to the university’s learning management system. Such an endeavor also reinforced the Japanese national thrust regarding explorations of e-book-based technologies and using Artificial Intelligence in education. Teachers could upload reading materials for instance their course notes and associate an audio of their lecture. While students who registered in their course accessed the learning materials, the system collected their interaction logs in a learning record store. Across the spring semesters from April - July 2020, BookRoll system collected nearly 1.5 million reading interaction logs from more than 6300 students across 243 courses in 6 domains. The analysis highlighted that during emergency remote teaching and learning BookRoll maintained a weekly average traffic above 1,900 learners creating more than 78,000 reading logs and teachers perceived it as useful for orchestrating their course.

What Would Janeway and Roslin Do?: A Sci-Fi–Watching Library Historian Confronts COVID-19

What Would Janeway and Roslin Do?: A Sci-Fi–Watching Library Historian Confronts COVID-19

Teaching the History and Organization of Libraries: The Coronavirus Pandemic as an Opportunity to Study Public Library Reopenings

Teaching the History and Organization of Libraries: The Coronavirus Pandemic as an Opportunity to Study Public Library Reopenings

Learning analytics of humanities course: reader profiles in critical reading activity

This study investigates learner’s reading behaviors in a critical reading task in humanities course using learning analytics techniques. A Critical Analysis of Literature and Cinema course was selected as a context. The course activities evolved over 10 years, and for this instance, some face-to-face classroom critical reading activities were migrated to online mode by using BookRoll, a learning analytics enhanced eBook platform. Students (n=22 out of the 50 registered) accessed Hayavadana, an Indian play uploaded on BookRoll, and attempted to identify performative elements and cultural references in the text and highlight them. In this study, we analyze learner’s reading logs gathered in the learning record store linked to BookRoll during that activity. We extend our previous work where we identify four online reading profiles: effortful, strategic, wanderers, and check-out, based on learner’s clickstream interactions and time spent with the content. We validate the profiles with qualitative interview data collected from the learners and illustrate the quantified learning behaviors of each of those profiles based on an engagement metric. Our work aims to initiate further discussion related to the application of learning analytics in humanities courses both to probe into the learning behaviors of the students and thereby enhance the experiences with the use of interactive learning environments and data-driven services.

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Psychosocial Outcomes of a Mindfulness-Based Interactive e-Book for Young People with Cancer.

Purpose: Receiving a cancer diagnosis for young people is likely to adversely impact the individual's quality of life. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are an emerging strategy used to improve psychosocial well-being. However, challenges have been reported in relation to adherence and accessibility of face-to-face mindfulness programs among young people. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based interactive e-Book to improve psychosocial well-being of young people with cancer. Methods: Concurrent mixed methods approach with a pre-intervention-post-intervention survey and semistructured interviews evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a MBI delivered over a 6-week period, and its effect on psychosocial well-being of young people with cancer 15 to 24 years of age. Results: Of the 31 young people, both survivors and on active treatment, enrolled in the study, 20 (64.5%) completed the post-intervention survey. Textual data and interviews (n = 3) revealed that young people enjoyed the intervention and found it useful and easy to navigate, but wanted more attention paid to cancer-specific stressors, as well as opportunities for face-to-face or online interactions. Psychosocial well-being measures demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in depressive symptoms (2.35 to 1.25, p = 0.03) and psychological distress (23.63 to 19.79, p = 0.03), along with nonsignificant increases in mindfulness (20.05 to 22.9, p = 0.08) and quality of life (62.0 to 69.1, p = 0.13). Conclusion: Young people found the self-help MBI, delivered in an interactive e-Book platform, useful and acceptable. There were psychosocial benefits, although recruitment and retention were study challenges and can be improved in future research.

‘We Need Diverse E-Books:’ Availability of Award-Winning Children’s and Young Adult Titles in Today’s E-Book Platforms

The COVID-19 pandemic has made librarians responsible for children’s book collections in academic libraries acutely aware of the need to acquire children’s and young adult materials in electronic formats. This research project compared the availability of 1,600 award-winning and professionally-recognized PreK–12 titles within the e-book platforms of EBSCO, Follett, Hoopla, Mackin, Overdrive, ProQuest, and Tumblebooks. In addition, the authors examined the availability of children’s e-books pertaining to racial/ethnic, gender, LGBTQ+, and disability diversity from these vendors. The results of this study indicated that there were substantial disparities in the availability of e-books by grade level and by publisher. The availability of titles pertaining to people of color, women, LGBTQ + persons, and people with disabilities was usually (but not always) similar or better compared to the availability of all titles in the dataset.

Platformy e-booków w polskich bibliotekach akademickich – ocena funkcjonalności i dostępności

Electronic publications have consistently been part of the information landscape of Polish academic libraries, and many libraries have access to online ebook collections. These collections are available from computers connected to the university network and from home computers using remote access. These e-sources are a great alternative to expensive traditional publications. However, not all platforms guarantee full availability or a wide range of functionality for multi-level work with the texts. This article presents the results of the tests of 10 selected ebook platforms used in the academic world (e.g., IBUK Libra, Elsevier eBooks, NASBI, JSTOR Open Access Books) according to criteria like file formats, search and navigation, text-to-speech, and print/export options. The results of the authors’ analyses confront the results of analogical research on platforms used in American libraries.

E-Dictionaries in a Network of Information Tools in the e-Environment

Traditional dictionaries offer curated data to users. Users should therefore be able to find the correct data to solve their information need. However, users don't necessarily know the exact scope of lexicographic information. Dictionary articles can still demand considerable interpretation by the user to select the appropriate meaning or equivalent. In the e-environment, users can easily navigate between different e-sources. This is especially evident on various e-book platforms, where one can link multiple dictionaries and other sources to a text or search of the internet. Internet content is obviously not curated, and providing access to such data is therefore anathema to the traditional lexicographer. A traditional dictionary is the result of an application of data pushing procedures. The online environment enables the use of data pulling procedures that give users access to both curated and non-curated data. These issues are illustrated by means of a number of examples that show that a large number of different and disparate information sources are easily available to the user to satisfy any specific information need, and that the dictionary is one of a plethora of information sources. The information is therefore available on demand, without risking information overload. It is argued that, when optimising a network of information tools that constitutes a comprehensive search universe, the information retrieval structure should preferably have a circular network as application domain, rather than a linear continuum.

Peace, Love, and Libraries: A Letter to VLA’s Membership

In this letter to the Virginia Library Association membership at the end of her term as President, the author shares highlights and initiatives from the year. These include: the annual conference with the theme of Peace, Love, Libraries and its connection to libraries as a place of community discussion; the new affiliate membership model that VLA introduced this year; establishment of the Librarians of Color Forum; and the name change of the Diversity & Inclusion Forum to LGBTQIA+. The letter also describes upcoming changes to the Virginia Libraries journal; three programs by VLACRL; programming successes from the CaTS Forum; a professional associates survey project; regional programs; the New Members Round Table mentorship program; VLA manual changes regarding VALLA program requirements; and a letter from VLA countering Macmillan’s planned ebook platform changes.

Peer-to-Peer Sharing of Subscription Services: A Non-Discriminatory Approach to Price Discrimination with Resale

Resale of used products may shrink the new-product market and create the cannibalization problem. This problem is exacerbated in the digital goods market because copies of digital goods can be perfect substitutes of the original. Many digital goods/service producers take advantage of technology (e.g., digital rights management or DRM) to restrict resale of their digital products. In this paper, we posit that resale of digital goods may not necessarily be a concern. Instead, product resale can be an effective tool of managing heterogeneous demand---thanks to the traceability of resale and the control over usage allowance. Specifically, we consider a digital goods/service seller, e.g., an e-book platform, a telecommunication carrier or a cloud storage provider, who offers a contract to a group of heterogeneous customers at a fixed price for a specific amount of usage allowance. Instead of implementing restrictive barriers to sharing, in this contract subscribers are allowed to share their allowances with others in a peer-to-peer resale market at a transaction cost that is determined by the seller. We characterize the optimal terms of the sharing contract and quantify its performance. We find that the seller's optimal strategy is to facilitate reselling by imposing zero transaction cost. The sharing contract achieves the same outcome as a two-part tariff, in which subscribers pay first an entry fee for the access to the service and then a marginal rate of usage. Not only do they yield identical revenue, they also achieve the same market coverage and result in the same demand and individual surplus for customers of the same type. Therefore, the sharing contract is effectively a vehicle of price discrimination. This finding also challenges a conventional belief that the success of price discrimination has to be relying on the prevention of reselling. Our result demonstrates that resale is not necessarily detrimental to price discrimination: resale is instead a necessary condition for price discrimination if the digital goods/service contract can be written on terms of price and usage allowance.

Where’s the EASY Button? Uncovering E-Book Usability

E-book platforms have multiplied among vendors and publishers, complicating not only acquisitions and collection development decisions, but also the user experience. Using a methodology of task-based user testing, the researchers sought to measure and compare user performance of eight common tasks on nine e-book platforms: EBSCO eBooks, ProQuest Ebook Central, Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL), Oxford Reference, Safari Books Online, IGI Global, CRCnetBASE, Springer Link, and JSTOR. Success and failure rates per task, average time spent per task, and user comments were evaluated to gauge the usability of each platform. Findings indicate that platforms vary widely in terms of users’ ability and speed in completing known-item searches, navigation tasks, and identification of specialized tools, with implications for library acquisition and user instruction decisions. Results also suggest several key vendor design recommendations for an optimal user experience. The study did not aim to declare a “winning” platform, and all the platforms tested demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses in different aspects, but overall performance and user preference favored ProQuest’s Ebook Central platform.