Innovative Publications
Innovative Publication Techniques: Changing the Nature of the Academic Book
At OBP, all our books are published in both physical (paperback and hardback) and digital (PDF, XML, HTML, EPUB and MOBI) formats. We believe Open Access publications can embrace the possibilities of digital publishing – by, for example, embedding audiovisual material or enabling greater interactivity with readers – without abandoning the printed form. While the digital elements discussed here are obviously most easily and effectively accessed from digital editions of the book, we make it easy for readers of the print edition to make use of them by providing web links, and also scannable QR codes wherever possible.
Here are examples of our titles that experiment with techniques including: incorporating audio/visual material into the fabric of the text; zooming functions on selected images; using commentary functions to enable reader annotation and discussion; and creating publications from database content.
At OBP, all our books are published in both physical (paperback and hardback) and digital (PDF, XML, HTML, EPUB and MOBI) formats. We believe Open Access publications can embrace the possibilities of digital publishing – by, for example, embedding audiovisual material or enabling greater interactivity with readers – without abandoning the printed form. While the digital elements discussed here are obviously most easily and effectively accessed from digital editions of the book, we make it easy for readers of the print edition to make use of them by providing web links, and also scannable QR codes wherever possible.
Here are examples of our titles that experiment with techniques including: incorporating audio/visual material into the fabric of the text; zooming functions on selected images; using commentary functions to enable reader annotation and discussion; and creating publications from database content.
Creating printed titles from digital platforms and databases
We are receiving increasing numbers of inquiries from people interested in how to create a publication from database content – whether to attract a different readership, to facilitate archiving and ensure the longevity of the work, or to increase the level of scholarly recognition it receives. We currently have three active projects in this area:



Embedded material





Linked material



Commentary and text analysis


A Wikiversity edition of each of these books have been created, allowing them to be continually updated thanks to the power of social editing.


Zooming function



We provide additional online resources from the book’s title page, and we link to these from the book itself using online links and a scannable QR code. Some examples of these additional resources are given below.







