The Philippine Online Chronicles

How do publishers face a digitized future, where students go to school with tablet PCs instead of text books; while readers buy and read their books on smart phones and other mobile devices?

The 2nd Future of the Book (FOTB) Philippine Digital Publishing Conference, to be held from November 28 to 29 at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni, seeks to answer these questions.

Gathering key industry leaders from educational publishing, the event will tackle future prospects in print production, as well as the imminent digital shift. The event is organized by the National Book Development Board (NBDB), Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), the Department of Education, and Vibal Foundation, Inc. -- the non-profit arm of leading educational publisher Vibal Publishing House, Inc.

Day 1 will include discussions on e-textbook production, as well as digital publishing standards, to be given by a representative of an international digital publishing firm.

Representatives from Vibe, the first Philippine e-bookstore and app developer, will also address how to bring books online, facilitating workshops on how to make an e-book and how to build an interative book app. There will also be a workshop on how to build a digital sales channel to sell books online.

A plenary session will also be held to discuss various digital education publishing projects around the world, including initiatives in the Philippines, to update textbooks for the digital age. This will include representatives from Flat World Knowledge, Philippine Educational Publishers Association, Laguna LGU, and Diwa Publishers.

Day 2 will feature a plenary session on digital bookselling on various platforms, with representatives from local online bookstores Flipside and Vibe, as well as Adobe and Mobile H1.

Central Books and HP will also lead the discussion on the future of printing, focusing on the connections among print, e-books and print-on-demand technology.

Members of Filipino publishing initiatives including Hand Interactive, Chikiting Books by Vibal Publishing, Adarna House, Vee Press, Tahanan Books, and Ocean House, will stage a roundtable discussion on mobile marketing, e-textbooks and changing readers' attitudes towards digital publications.