Presentation about epub and mobile device survey of K-State Research and Extension staff. Presented to 2012 ACE conference.

1. An epub compass
What we learned from a survey
of Kansas State University
Research and Extension faculty
and staff

2. Circumstances
• Many pubs
• Unwieldy website
• Increasing device use (true for our editors
and, presumably, our audience)
• Administrator curiosity (such as apps and
QR codes), but no new staff or funds

3. Goals
• Serve the public and its evolving
needs/desires for information without extra
budget or staff
• Compete with other information sources,
which often provide many formats (iPad
magazines, ebooks, and mobile versions
of sites)

4. The big picture
“Between 2017 and 2019 smartphones will be
the only mobile phones Americans will
use.”
Source: ASYMCO (with data from
The New York Times) April 11, 2012
Dedicated e-reader sales are highest in Lexington,
Ann Arbor, Anchorage, Madison, Greenville, DC,
Pittsburgh, and Des Moines (not urban “elite”
areas!). But e-readers aren’t all that
popular anywhere compared with the iPad.
Source: The Atlantic, April 18, 2012

5. “A Snapshot of E-reader and Tablet
Owners”
PewInternet, January 27, 2012
•Ownership of these two devices jumped from
18% in December 2011 to 29% in
January 2012.
•Only 26% of tablet owners are age 18–29,
and only 20% of e-reader owners are 18–29.

6. • Figures for e-reader vs. tablet owners don’t
differ drastically by household income,
race, or education level. Owners:
– Are 67% white
– Probably make more than $50,000 a year
(56%); 42% make more than $75,000
– Are even more likely to make more than
$30,000 (76%)
– Are very likely to have some college or a
college or advanced degree (72%)

7. Farmers and mobile
technology
• AgWeb.com and Commodity Update
found that 47% of 800 farmers
surveyed use a smartphone (May
9, 2012)
– Of those who don’t, 17% plan to upgrade
in the next 6 months
– 20% use a tablet (majority: iPad) and 9%
plan to purchase in less than 6 months

8. • A 2011 survey by Successful
Farming magazine found that 43% of
farmers with a mobile phone said
they own a smartphone
– This was a higher adoption rate than the
general public; Nielsen said about one-third at
the time
– May 8, 2012: Nielsen survey said that as of
March, 50.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers owned
a smartphone

9. What others are doing
• New Mexico State: Extension pubs as
ebooks, html, PDF, and mobi (Kindle) (free)
• Louisiana State: “Louisiana Agriculture”
magazine as epub (free)
• Utah State: A few extension pubs on
Amazon Kindle ($.99 or $1.99)

10. • Texas A&M: No ebooks yet
• Ontario: Fact sheets (4- to 8-page
technical pubs) for agriculture and
environment (free)
We decided to address the question of
whether to produce publications as ebooks
with a
survey of KSRE faculty and staff.

11. Survey objectives
1. Census: Devices,
demographics. What information
do you want in terms of format
and content?
2. Experience: What you access,
how it works, what challenges
you have encountered, where
you found it.
3. Future: What programming do
you want? What has potential?

12. Survey participation
• Sent to approximately 1,500 KSRE faculty
and staff with IRB approval.
• 209 completed surveys; 273 began the
survey.
• Problem with question 1 about devices:
The question didn’t allow more than one
response. Many respondents checked one,
then left a comment with other devices, so
we counted devices mentioned and added
them to our totals.

13. Results: Census
• 30 iPads
• 32 PDA/palmtop computers
• 21 ebook readers
• 120 smartphones
• 110 none of the above. We found
this number shocking.
• Many people own more than one device
(at least 45).

14. • In response to a question about types of
programming for tablets or smartphones,
we saw many “I don’t know” or “I don’t
need it” or “wouldn’t work” responses
(@40)
• Handful of “Everything!” responses

15. Positive comment
• “Video-based ‘fact sheets.’ I recently
downloaded on the iPad the O magazine app
and then an old (free) volume of the
magazine. The magazine became very
interactive …. That format seemed
really user friendly and interactive.
Could we have a KSRE app??? Maybe
we could publish a “magazine” monthly or
quarterly?”

16. Negative comments
• “I do not like to advocate the use of
tablets or smartphones for education
(although I fear it may be the direction we
are heading). Tablets are best used reading
books and newspapers …. Smartphones
are not available to all, due to cost (I
can’t even afford one) and availability
of decent connectivity if outside tower
range.”

17. Negative comments
• “As for the question below, ‘Do you foresee
planning educational programs that use
tablets or smartphones as a means of
delivery?,’ one may foresee it, but at the
cost of instructors and the personal
contact that a classroom offers. A
sad day it will be!”

18. Program suggestions
• Gardening
• 4-H
• Prenatal and infant nutrition
• Parenting
• Food safety
• Plant or crop pests or diseases
• Items for younger audiences and brief items
(videos, lessons, fact sheets, link-heavy resources)

19. Occupations of respondents

20. Demographics

21. Device access

22. Results: Experience

23. Used an ebook?

24. Source of online information
• Usually Google or another search engine
• Comments about KSRE website:
– “I can find K-State information easier through
Google”
– “KSRE website is difficult to navigate
– “KSRE search engine is AWFUL”
• Received at least 8 complaints about our site or
search, perhaps partly due to Google Search
Appliance

25. Topics needed away from
office?

26. Format preference

27. Results: Future
Some enthusiasm, but also reservations
• Reaching those who can’t afford the
devices
• Inability to update ebooks after they are
downloaded

28. What they want as ebooks
• 4-H project books, leader training
• “pest and plant ID”
• “Prairie star flowers, gardening information, recipes
and nutrition tips”
• Youth competitive event rules and regulations
• Garden Guide
• “food safety, cooking, storage”
• “publications in all areas,” “any of the publications”

29. Plan to use tablets,
smartphones
for programs?

30. What now?
• Post the same pub in different
formats and see what is downloaded.
• Provide links in weekly KSRE email
newsletter to drive faculty and staff to
alternate formats.
• Promote with social media.
• Overcome barriers to epub adoption.

31. Problems
• Survey issues already mentioned
• Questionable responses (i.e., farmers with
nothing but desktops)
• Survey provided no clear direction
• Lack of administrative and client demand
• Rate of change in this area: Survey is
already outdated

32. Problems
• Some of our best ideas for mobile information
do not lend themselves to the epub
format
– Table-intensive
– Large graphics
• Unsure of final destination for epub
– Authors have stated interest in iPad-specific
design

33. Best-case scenario
• Identify specialists or agents with
programming ideas that fit the epub format
and produce more examples.
• Show audience that we have
different formats available. Promote
alternatives so people know about them.
• Drive better website design so those
who prefer html will be happier.

34. Technical details
• Adobe InDesign 5.5
• Training from outside group for two staff members
• Samples to show
• Other formats?
– Interactive PDF
– HTML development

35. What are YOU doing?
• What are your plans and challenges?
• What does your audience use or want to use?
• What ebook formats are you using?
• How does ebook production gel with your
workflow? What changes did you need to
make?
• How do you promote ebooks?

36. Thank you
• Linda Gilmore, lindagi@k-state.edu
• Sarah Hancock, sarhan@k-state.edu
• Amy Hartman, ahartman@k-state.edu
• Donna Sheffield, dsheffie@k-state.edu
• Mark Stadtlander, mark@k-state.edu
• Nancy Zimmerli-Cates, Janie Dunstan