AMICALnet

28 April 2006

Over the past months, the e-Book Working Group has made significant progress in understanding the issues related to the use of e-books. We have undertaken an online survey and discussed and researched the challenges and opportunities that digital texts offer AMICAL. As we move closer to the meeting in Cairo, we are ready to put this information in your hands and elicit your ideas and feedback on our work to date.

First, you are welcome you to review the results of the survey we conducted at the beginning of the year. The data is available in both summary and detailed formats at the link below. By clicking on the Add Filter button on the top of the results page, you can filter or query the data to focus on your specific concerns:

Second, we have prepared a draft report of our progress to date. While this report may be revised by the time of the conference, it provides a good indication of our current thinking on the complexities of the e-book landscape. It offers recommendations if the Consortium agrees to pursue an e-book (or related) initiative with the eventual goal of a unified purchase / sharing agreement. The report is linked here:

In closing, e-books cover a wide range of options (both public domain and copyright protected) and a bewildering array of formats and distribution models. The challenges here are profound, but the Group is convinced that we need to take advantage of these resources. As we move into an increasingly networked environment, we will need to discover new ways to grow and sustain the learning communities that are central to our missions. E-books are an innovative solution, but they will require that we share our expertise and draw upon the collective knowledge embodied through AMICAL.

But I am getting ahead of myself! Please read our report, study the survey results, and see this work as an invitation, indeed, a doorway, to a vibrant conversation in Cairo.

On behalf of the e-Book Working Group,

Emory Craig

Sania Battalova (Rep. to Steering Committee)
Emory Craig (Moderator at 2005 meeting)
Shahira El Sawy Aida Hajjar