Michael M. Widdersheim, the author of a new essay published in First Monday and linked below, is a Ph.D. student in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.
Widdersheim’s essay runs approx 9500 words.
First Monday is a peer-reviewed, open access publication.
Title
E-books: Histories, Trajectories, Futures
Author
Michael M. Widdersheim
Source
First Monday
Vol. 20, No. 6 (2015)
Abstract
This essay traces the historical trajectory of e-books in the U.S. and imagines their possible futures. Legal, economic, and technical developments that led to contemporary e-books reveal a tension between commercial and non-commercial programming. Commercial e-book designs control end uses, reduce production and distribution costs, stimulate consumption, and monitor user behaviors; however, alternative producers and users on the periphery continue to challenge these centralizing tendencies.
Direct to Full Text Essay