OPDS and the Future of Digital Books

Peter Brantley COSLA Internet Archive web presentation San Francisco 10.2010

What readers want to have .. Be able to find the books they want, in the formats that they can use, for the reading platform of their choice, from any source (and not just GBS!).

What publishers, libraries, bookstores want - Make books available for discovery, with accurate descriptive information, at as many different places as possible, under the sales / use terms permitted.

Creating a new architecture using common, open standards that permits people to find, buy, acquire, and read books from any source, on any platform, using many different ebook applications.

Content publisher creates a catalog. then ... 1. Reader browses catalog of titles ... 2. selects a title for consideration... 3. obtains book (payment if required) ... 4. places it in the user’s bookshelf.

Bookserver Catalogs are based on the common XML standard, Atom. Applications can be quickly written to read them, across different platforms. A world beyond Apple, Amazon, Google

BookServer Catalogs can be either: 1) Published by each media provider (such as a publisher or library), or 2) Aggregated into large collections by content platforms providing services and access

Catalogs contain simple data describing books, + pointers to addt’l data sources – Generates a parsimonious vector for providing a content manifest

Catalogs can be used in B2B to share data with partners instead of using complicated transmittal standards.

Take our books! Please! Internet Archive’s complete public feed: http://bookserver.archive.org/catalog/crawlable IA > Kobo Books IA > Barnes & Noble IA > ?

Using open standards for describing data, it is possible to link together data more easily. This is called “linked data”.  Book reviews  Reading lists  Annotations

FeedBooks is pioneering the use of Catalogs create vendor-neutral portable bookshelves.  Manage books from multiple retailers  Backup your files (Local, Dropbox)  Add books to social networks  Share what you’re reading

“Open Publication Distribution System” (OPDS) is the BookServer catalog spec., utilizing the Atom Syndication Format. http://opds-spec.org/ Released: 30 August 2010.

Mailing list is public: please join! https://groups.google.com/group/openpub Development page: http://code.google.com/p/openpub/

Hadrien Gardeur (FeedBooks) has written excellent primer to BookServer Catalogs: http://www.feedbooks.com/api/primer

Ebooks are being enhanced with non-textual media (video, audio, interactivity) and reader driven non-linear narratives. “Many of Penguin’s iPad books seem hardly to resemble “books” at all, but rather very interactive learning experiences ... ” - PaidContent UK

Apple and Google are investing in HTML5. Next generation web document standard. Streamlined media, structure, data handling. Most major web browsers moving to support HTML5, including those on smartphones, as well as Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome, via the “Webkit” rendering engine.

 Transition to HTML5  Explosion in # of mobile devices  Increasing wireless broadband (4G+) Designing for coming EPUB3 = designing for the (mobile) web.

Pressure to move digital books from self- contained packages of media assets to a set of pointers to network located resources. Impacts:  Mobile access (size, complexity)  Rights relationships (use vs. acquired)  Content sources (contracted vs. user gen)

Networked digital books stretch our understanding of what a book can be. Digital book experiences will be delivered in web browser-based reading applications.

Contact : peter brantley internet archive san francisco ca @naypinya (twitter) peter @archive.org

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OPDS and the Future of Digital Books

by Peter Brantley on Nov 17, 2010

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OPDS and the Future of Digital Books — Presentation Transcript