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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Executive
Director
Nicholas Bogaty
(212)
924-9081
www.openebook.org
New Version of Widely Adopted eBook
Specification Releasedá
Publishers, Software Manufacturers and Public Interest Groups Support Standard
New York, NY, April 2, 2003 á The Open eBook Forum (www.openebook.org)
has received industry support of a new version of its widely adopted eBook
specification from publishers, software manufacturers and public interest
groups.
The specification is a version (1.2) of the Open eBook Publication Structure
(OeBPS) and adds substantial enhancements to meet expressed industry needs.
OEBPS is an XML-based format for the content, structure, and presentation of
electronic books. It enables publishers to create a single electronic
representation of a publication that can be easily transformed into other
formats and presented on many devices. The specification and sample OeBPS 1.2
publications are available for free public download at:
http://www.openebook.org/oebps/oebps1.2/index.htm
The OEBPS specification was developed by the Publication Structure Working
Group (PSWG), part of the Open eBook Forum, a trade and standard group for the
eBook industry. Work on OEBPS 1.2 was carried out by representatives from Adobe
Systems Inc., Data Conversion Laboratory, FX PAL, Gemstar-TVGuide, GlobalMentor,
the Library of Congress, McGraw-Hill, Microsoft, Nokia, Overdrive, and Random
House, among other companies and organizations.
óOEBPS is a coordinated set of standards that allows publishers to
easily present their content on almost any ebook device. Most importantly,
because OEBPS can directly accommodate inhouse XML vocabularies with little or
no modification it can often be a very simple matter for a publisher to
produce OEBPS. The new version provides vastly improved ability to specify
formatting and achieve high-quality presentation.Ç
Ž Allen Renear, Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chair of the OEBF Publication
Structure Working Group
The eBook industry has responded with enthusiastic support:
Comments from the Publishing Community
óOEBPS is already widely used in the publishing industry, providing a
reliable interoperable content standard; the 1.2 version offers major
improvements in presentation capabilities, exactly what publishers have been
asking for.Ç
Ž Edward McCoyd, Director of Digital Policy, Association of American
Publishers
óThe OEBPS is fundamental to eBook publishing, enabling multiple
products to be produced from a single source. With the additional presentation
capabilities of the new version, Random House, Inc. will be able to continue
to deliver the quality that readers deserve.Ç
Ž Amanda Kimmel, Director, New Media, Random House, Inc.
"McGraw-Hill welcomes the continuing evolution of the OEB Publication
Structure standard. The eBook industry will grow more quickly if it has more
open, royalty-free standards like the OEBPS, and the OeBF has made an
important contribution on this front."
Ž Robert Bolick, Vice-President and Director, New Business Development,
McGraw-Hill Professional.
óWith the publication of OEBPS 1.2, the Open eBook Forum continues to
provide leadership in the all-important area of establishing open standards
for the burgeoning e-book industry - standards that benefit authors,
publishers, technology companies, retailers, and ultimately, readers.Ç
Ž Christopher North, Vice President & General Manager, Electronic
Publishing, HarperCollins Publishers
óThe versatility of OEBPS is a key to enabling publishers to streamline
their eBook production processes which facilitates our expansion in the
current eBook marketplace and positions us for the future of digital
publishing.Ç
Ž Keith Titan, Senior Director of ePublishing and eCommerce, Simon &
Schuster Inc
óThe introduction of the OeBPS will s-i-m-p-l-i-f-y the eBook conversion
process for publishers, thus enabling us to get product to our customers more
quickly and easily.Ç
Ž Kelly Leonard, Executive Director, AOL Time Warner Book Group
Comments from Software Manufacturers
óThis update of the OEBPS once again demonstrates that representatives
from a diverse set of commercial entities and non-profit organizations can
work together to produce a valuable specification for the growing electronic
publishing industry. We have been delighted to work under the auspices of the
Open eBook Forum on this collaborative and constructive effort.Ç
Ž John Frederiksen, Product Unit Manager eReading Technologies,
Microsoft Corp.
óWe already use OEBPS widely in our operations, and we've been looking
forward to OEBPS 1.2 so publishers can have increased control over content
presentation. OEBPS has played a large role in helping us rapidly get more and
more eBooks available to the world.Ç
Ž Dave Pascoe, Director, eCommerce, Palm Digital Media
óOEBPS is now an excellent revisable format for XML publishing content.Ç
Ž Thomas R. Diaz, Senior Engineering Manager, eBook Development Group,
Adobe Systems Incorporated
óWith these additions OEBPS is ready for prime time. The new
functionality provides the enhanced power and fidelity that the Gemstar eBook
Group has been looking forward to.Ç
Ž Garth Conboy, General Manager, Gemstar eBook Group Limited
Comments from Public Interest Groups
óOnly principled open standards like the Open eBook Publication
Structure can help digital publishing achieve its full potential and make
abundant rich content available to our nation.Ç
Ž Maurice J. (Mitch) Freedman, President of the American Library
Association.
óCarefully designed XML-based formats like the OEBPS, help ensure that
electronic books can be read effectively by persons with print disabilities.
We commend the Open eBook Forum for its commitment to standards and
accessibility and welcome the new version.Ç
Ž Janina Sajka, Director, Technology Research and Development, American
Foundation for the Blind
The Publication Structure Working Group is now actively at work on Version
2.0 of the Open eBook Publication Structure. Goals for this version include
major enhancements in areas of navigation and linking, internationalization and
metadata and it is intended to support even more complex formatting, including
textbooks and educational materials.
For more information about OEBPS see the OEBPS FAQ see:
http://www.openebook.org/oebps/oebps_faq.htm
The specification is available for free and public download at:
http://www.openebook.org/oebps/oebps1.2/index.htm
About the Open eBook Forum:
The Open eBook Forum,
http://www.openebook.org, is an international non-profit trade and standards
organization for the electronic book publishing industry.
Gold Sponsoring Members include technology leaders Microsoft Corporation,
Adobe Systems, Palm Digital Media and OverDrive, Inc.
A complete OeBF member list and membership information can be found on the
OeBF website at
www.openebook.org.
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