Ebooks and audiobooks are a staple of many people’s current reading habits. Even though their precursors go back way further than you’d probably think, they really went mainstream in the last two decades.¹ And is this any surprise? The convenience of having a plethora of books available wherever you go and often on devices you are bringing with you anyhow, is undeniable. As those of you who are subscribed to the Bildungblocks-newsletter might know, since last summer I am rapidly losing the rest of my already abysmal remaining level of sight. And this complicates researching these blogs, as you can imagine! As such, I have started using an e-reader since a considerate family member gifted me one a couple of weeks ago. Because with such a device I can enlarge the letters to my heart’s content and create a high contrast reading environment. And I am painfully aware that all too soon my reading activities will be mostly confined to audiobooks. These matters inspired the question we will look at today: how do ebooks and audiobooks fare as research tools in comparison to their printed counterparts, especially when we consider their accessibility?

There is of course already a lot of research on ebooks and audiobooks: from their adoption by the publishing industry as well as readers, to the way in which the human brain processes the information presented therein.² I will not re-litigate all these efforts here. Instead, I want to focus today on the practicalities of these alternative gateways into the written word for research purposes – especially for those, like myself, who are dependent on them to continue to dabble in scholarship and other forms of annotated inquiry.

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Ebooks

You may wonder how Ebooks can be considered at all different when it comes to annotated research than those books which require spilling ink on dead trees. Are these not books, but you read the familiar letters, sentences, and chapters on a screen instead of from paper? And this is true, to a certain extent. But just as ebooks exhibit advantages vis-a-vis traditional books, they also present drawbacks that their paper counterparts managed to avoid. These drawbacks have mainly to do with the most common file types and some of the currently conventional publishing practices.

The books on your e-reader will chiefly be filed in two formats: .epub and .pdf.³ As the abbreviation suggests, epub-files are specifically suitable for your e-reader device. It is these books that you can indiscriminately enlarge and read in high contrast. Pdf-files, on the other hand, often do not scale this way or cannot be adapted to high contrast. And even when you try to convert a pdf-file to an epub, the graphic elements are regularly mangled.⁴ (Something that is especially diresome if you, like any sensible person, are interested in ancient writing systems!) What’s more, many books that you can find as printed editions in shops, libraries, and those cute book-swapping boxes are merely digitally available in one of the two formats I mentioned – or, frighteningly frequently, not digitally available at all. And this is even the case for those books that have been published since e-readers exploded in popularity.

The latter obstacle to continuing your bildung through an e-reader of course dovetails with the aforementioned publishing practices. If proper accessibility is a true priority, books should be available in all formats that aid people in reading. And in this modern world, ebooks can really not be neglected. At least when it comes to non-fiction works, these formats should in addition also be adapted to the need of scholars and researchers. We already saw that epub-files have accessibility options on e-readers that most pdf-files simply do not. But you might still need to reference the pdf- or print edition, if these are available, because e-readers by and large do not come with the original page numbers. So if you care about citing and foot notes – which you absolutely should! – you cannot rely solely on a book that is filed as an epub. If you can continue to access your copy, that is.

Because, in addition to these technical improvements, the publishing industry could reconsider their business model as it relates to research. Many ebook vendors only sell (temporary) access to their catalog. And sometimes books that were once accessible simply disappear.⁵ As such, it is difficult to reference a more or less permanent source that later readers can look up for themselves – just as with last year’s blog on dead links. Furthermore, some sub-types of epub-files are only legible on merely certain brands of e-reader or in otherwise walled off digital environments.⁶ Printed scholarly and scientific literature can of course not be locked away like that. And many institutions throughout the world, like university and publc libraries, take care to retain physical copies of most of these works for posterity. Though, even such diligent institutions could still be better provided by their benefactors to aid in the greater accessibility of digital scholarly and scientific literature.⁷

Audiobooks

Audiobooks are, and this may surprise you, books in an audio format. In the most basics sense, books are read out loud to the reader. Even more than with ebooks, the scholarly discussion on audiobooks is in large part focused on the question whether consuming these can be compared to reading words on a page. And this comparison has been explored from all imaginable angles, from memory retention to our neurological development.⁸ Having said that – and despite the very real differences – researchers often mention audiobooks and ebooks in the same breath.⁹ And when we consider audiobooks as a research tool, a number of surprising similar dilemmas to ebooks arise.¹⁰

The most immediately obvious similar dilemmas are, as you have probably guessed, the lack of page numbers and the complications with graphical elements. As a researcher this entails that citing a book or exploring illustrations, visual clarifiers, and symbols is rather arduous.¹¹ Some of the practices in the publishing industry are also hindrances in an analogous way. Like ebooks, one often buys merely access to an audiobook. So again, it is difficult to reference a source in a way that the author or audiences can consult them during a reasonable time frame.¹² Though audiobooks are less often held hostage by closed digital environments, like some ebooks are by the companies behind certain e-readers. As such, if my research has not been superseded by the time you read this, it is easier to safe your audiobooks on your personal device and keeping them accessible to you and your readers for posterity – at least for those brave enough to contact you! Lastly, the availability and attainability issues mentioned with ebooks are as pressing and important with audiobooks.¹³ A digital book is therefore often still a less accessible and secure holding than a printed volume.¹⁴

Conclusion: Any Road Can Take You there

As could be expected and should be the norm anyway, I did give my e-reader a name. It is called Homeros. Not only because this legendary (and perhaps fictional) poet was reputedly blind, but also because the first book I read on it was Emily Wilson’s excellent translation of The Odyssey, one of the poems ascribed to that ancient Greek.¹⁵ Luckily, I can also still use my own, physical books – at least for a while. Because, through societal assistance, I was provided with a so-called video magnifier. With this machine, I can enlarge the letters in my book and present them in high contrast, just like with Homeros the e-reader! Furthermore, I can read important documents and other papers that cannot be read on an e-reader. And in a bout of domestic craftiness, we also created a wooden contraption that keeps the books opened and legible, while I make my notes for these blogs. As such, there are also still (temporal) ways to conduct scholarship which do involve neither ebooks nor audiobooks and for now I am still not entirely dependent on them and their shortcomings.

But for when I am – and for those who are already unfortunate enough to have to rely on them for their reading – I hope that some of the problems that I explained above are soon addressed. And this is far more feasible than you might think.

First and foremost, there are already universal ebook-formats which are ready to be mass adopted. And such a shift would not imperil other interests, such as copyright.¹⁶ Similarly viable solutions can be found for the hassle of transferring and making legible the graphic elements of print books with regard to ebooks and – though with more obstacles to overcome – audiobooks.¹⁷ Furthermore, making books more widely available as ebooks and audiobooks, as well as providing more opportunities to access them, can be prioritized better by both publishers and libraries.¹⁸ The matter of the page numbers can also be solved. Ebooks can (and sometimes already do) provide the original page numbers in the margins, just as Oxford University Press does when they digitally publish their books in a standard lay-out. And similar solutions could be applied to audiobooks. For non-fiction research works, the original page numbers can be mentioned at the beginning of each page as par for the course. And other books, one might imagine, could be equipped with a page number mode, wherein an automated voice mentions the page number when applicable. Specifically with scholarly and scientific literature, I strongly believe, do the advantages of these possibilities, especially when they are an optional modus, outweigh the disadvantages by a wide margin – yes, that was a pun.

As you undoubtedly already mused upon, ebooks and audiobooks are not the only digital aids for those continuing to engage with research and scholarship while visually impaired. Other solutions include computer programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking which can read documents that are suited for that purpose out loud. And this can also be a useful aid in both education and inquiry.¹⁹ But here too, there is a role for the publishing industry and others who play a part in making alternatives to printed books more widely available. As with ebooks and audiobooks, they can ascertain that there are versions of their catalogs available which are compatible with this kind of use. Because the right to read should be approached systematically and comprehensively, instead of the ad hoc availability that those who have to rely on digital books still mostly experience today.²⁰ And if we succeed therein, even more of humanity can (continue to) partake in the universal quest for knowledge.

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References

1. Rüdiger Wischenbart, “Deposing the King of Content: Understanding the Shift Triggered by Audiobooks and Subscriptions”, Logos 2021, 32 (2), p. 29-30; K.T. Anuradha; H.S. Usha, “E‐books Access Models: An Analytical Comparative Study”, The Electronic Library 2006, 24 (5), p. 662-663. Audiobooks and ebooks in formats and uses that we would recognize today can be traced back to the freakin’ midpoint of the previous century! There was a lot of electromagnetic tape involved, see: Steven J. Dick, “Ebooks”, in: August E. Grant Jennifer H. Meadows (eds.), Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals (New York: Routledge, 2018), p. 252-261.
2. Jessica E. Moyer, “Audiobooks and E-books: A Literature Review”, Reference & User Services Quarterly 2012, 51, (4), p. 340-354.
3. For these and the other available formats, see: Jan Engelen, “E-Books and Audiobooks: What about Their Accessibility?”, in: Klaus Miesenberger et al (eds.), Computers Helping People with Special Needs, Part I: 12th International Conference, ICCHP 2010 (Vienna, Austria, July 14-16, 2010) (Heidelberg: Springer, 2010), p. 70.
4. Goncu Cagatay & Kim Marriott, “Creating eBooks with Accessible Graphics Content”, in: Christine Vanoirbeek & Pierre Geneves (eds.), Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Symposium on Document Engineering (New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2015). p. 89.
5. Laurens Verhagen & Pieter Sabel, “Uitgeschakeld na een Update”, deVolkskrant September 11^th 2021, Boeken & Wetenschap, p. 4-6; Amy Kirchhoff, “eBooks: The Preservation Challenge”, Reference & User Services Quarterly 2012, 51 (4), p. 340-354.
6. Paul Whitney & Christina Castell, Trade eBooks in Libraries: The Changing Landscape (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2016), p. 42.
7. Joelle Thomas & Galadriel Chilton, “Library E-Book Platforms Are Broken: Let’s Fix Them”, in: Suzanne M. Ward, Robert S. Freeman & Judith M. Nixon (eds.), Academic E-Books: Publishers, Librarians, and Users (West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2016), p. 249-262; Elizabeth Jones, “Vending Vs Lending How Can Public Libraries Improve Access to eBooks within Their Collections?”, Public Library Quarterly 2021, 40 (3), p. 185-202; Christina Mune & Ann Agee, “Are E-Books for Everyone? An Evaluation of Academic E-Book Platforms’ Accessibility Features”, Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 2016, 28 (3), 172-182.
8. Anisha Singh & Patricia A. Alexander, “Audiobooks, Print, and Comprehension: What We Know and What We Need to Know”, Educational Psychology Review 2022, 34 (2), p. 677-715; Elisa Tattersall Wallin, “Reading by Listening: Conceptualising Audiobook Practices in the Age of Streaming Subscription services”, Journal of Documentation 2021, 77 (2), p. 432-448.
9. Just take a cursory look at the literature I have cited in the notes to this blog!
10. Wischenbart, “Deposing the King of Content”, p. 29.
11. Moyer, “Audiobooks and E-books”, p. 342-343; Andy Brown, Robert Stevens & Steve Pettife, “Audio Representation of Graphs: A Quick Look”, in: Tony Stockman et al (eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Auditory Display (London, UK June 20 – 23, 2006) (London: University of London Department of Computer Science, 2006), p. 83-90; Singh & Alexander, “Audiobooks, Print, and Comprehension”, p. 677-715.
12. Keren Dali & Leah K. Brochu, “The Right to Listen: A Not So Simple Matter of Audiobooks”, Library Resources & Technical Services 2020, 64 (3), p. 106-119.
13. Moyer, “Audiobooks and E-books”, p. 342.
14. Verhagen & Sabel, “Uitgeschakeld na een Update”, p. 4-6.
15. Volker Siebert, “Die Blindheit Homers”, Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde 2018, 235 (2), p. 219-222; Homer, The Odyssey: A New Translation, Contexts, Criticism, Introduced and Translated by Emily R. Wilson (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2020).
16. Cristoph Bläsi & Franz Rothlauf, On the Interoperability of eBook Formats (Brussels: European and International Booksellers Federation, 2013). As an interesting aside, the literature on universal ebook-formats and their sensible implementation goes way back and is remarkably passionate, see for example: Terence Cavanaugh, “EBooks and Accommodations: Is this the Future of Print Accommodation?”, Teaching Exceptional Children 2002, 35 (2), p. 56-61; Thad McIlroy, “Ebook Formats Are a Mess – Here’s Why”, Learned Publishing 2012, 25 (4), p. 247-250.
17. Cagatay & Marriott, “Creating eBooks with Accessible Graphics Content”, p. 89; Brown, Stevens & Pettife, “Audio Representation of Graphs”, p. 677-715; Jaroslaw Wiazowski, “Audible Books with Acoustic Illustrations”, Journal of Special Education Technology 2009, 24 (4), p. 60-66.
18. William H. Walters, “E-books in Academic Libraries: Challenges for Discovery and Access”, Serials Review 2013, 39 (2), p. 97-98.
19. James Altman, “Taming the Dragon: Effective Use of Dragon Naturally Speaking Speech Recognition Software as an Avenue to Universal Access”, Writing & Pedagogy 2014, 5 (2), p. 333-348.
20. Paul Harpur & Nicolas Suzor, “The Paradigm Shift in Realising the Right to Read: How eBook Libraries Are Enabling in the University Sector”, Disability & Society 2014, 29 (10), p. 1658-1671; Paul Harpur, Discrimination, Copyright, and Equality: Opening the E-Book for the Print-Disabled (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017).