Digitally augmented books: The sbook platform for books that are smart, readable, searchable, networked, updatable, and promote active reading

The sBook platform that provides for the convergence of the printed codex book (p-book) and the e-book is described. The sBook platform combines the advantages of both the p-book and the e-book and incorporates some additional features that make the book smart, social and a vehicle for “active reading”. We will describe a number of different forms of the sBook that can operate on the sBook platform we are proposing. We will describe the different applications and advantages of each of these forms. The implications for print on demand publishing for the sBook are also examined. The impact of the sBook platform on a number of sectors is identified including authors, readers, publishers, booksellers, libraries and schools. Finally a number of research questions for further study are formulated. This paper is not so much a report of research completed but rather a scoping out of the issues that combining the p-book and the e-book entail. It is a report of work in progress.