Ebook navigation: Browse, search and index

OBJECTIVE To examine the ways in which users can navigate within nonfiction ebooks by browsing, searching and using indexes and to consider potential improvements.

DESIGN & METHODS This article is based on a review of the literature, investigation of browse, search and index functionality in a variety of reading devices, and involvement in the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) EPUB Indexes Working Group. The research includes all nonfiction ebooks that are readable on portable devices, but does not include retrieval of ebooks. RESULTS Ebook navigation depends on searching, browsing and using indexes. For some books and some reading devices these navigation methods do not work as well as they should, and problems with navigation deflect readers from their main purpose. Future developments that will enable ebooks to provide the key navigation features available in print books (pbooks) as well as additional tools based on the ability to search electronic text were identified. CONCLUSIONS Ebooks are not just digitised pbooks. They may have additional features but may also be missing components such as indexes and images. Developments in ebooks, including the EPUB standard, and ongoing improvements in ereader hardware, mean that ebook navigation through browse, search, and indexes has the potential to become less intrusive and more helpful to readers.