Elearning and Digital Publishing

The twenty‐first century sees higher education institutions facing critical transitions to adapt to technological developments to ensure their sustainability within a highly volatile society. In order to adapt to this societal e‐revolution – a term used to describe the remarkable rise in use of computer technology and the concomitant changes in all areas of society as a result (p. 1) – higher education institutions have to become forerunners in the use of technology in order to rejuvenate and find new and more sustainable directions.

Within this mindset of constant technological change and reform, a number of authors in the fields of university teaching, planning, librarianship and publishing focus on providing opinions on burning issues facing higher education. Three broad themes are discussed in Elearning and Digital Publishing: information literacy, e‐learning and digital publishing. To provide structure, the contents of the book are divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses primarily on education and information literacy; Part 2, on digital publishing; and Part 3 examines the overall implications of the growth of knowledge and scholarly communication.

Chapters 2 to 6 in the first section provide perspectives on e‐learning and distributed education. Aspects discussed include the provision of non‐local programmes at the Open University of Hong Kong, synergy between information literacy and e‐learning and providing online learning and teaching through distance education. Chapters 7 to 9 make up the second section, which focuses on digital publishing and electronic content delivery. More specifically, topics on trends in electronic publishing, copyright in the electronic environment and consortia collaboration with specific reference to electronic publications are discussed. Section 3, which consists of Chapters 10 to 12 deals with the publish or perish pressures on researchers, the shift of global knowledge to be available on free access web‐based sources as well as developments, trends and changes experienced in scholarly communication.

The contents of this book will be of particular interest to academics, librarians, higher education policy makers and people working in university presses. The value of the book lie in the examples and practical experiences included by authors such as Y.H. Lui from China, C. McNaught from Hong Kong and K.A. Wetzel, from the USA on how to use technology to improve online learning and teaching.

McNaught's description of how technology can be used to achieve specific learning outcomes as well as challenges to overcome to ensure optimum use of technology in higher education is of particular value. So are the chapters on scholarly publications by Colin Steele from Australia and H.S. Ching and L.C. Lau from Hong Kong that give particular detail on how electronic scholarly publications can eradicate plagiarism and increase the research output of students.

Elearning and Digital Publishing is highly recommended to all role players in higher education. It provides insights into the influence and impact of computer and information technology on modern universities and examines inevitable changes from different global perspectives.