This article was written by Paige Chapman and originally published at http://chronicle.com/blogPost/U-of-Michigan-Press-Tries/26429/
E-textbooks are not forever. Most publishers make their academic titles available for only a semester, or a year, after which time, the digital files self-destruct.

Over the past month, I have written a series of posts on the future of textbook publishing in the digital age. In the series, I have addressed new business models, new product models, a formula for digital product profitability, and specific product opportunities. In this final installment, I want to address the need for new publisher workflows in the coming decade.

In an effort to give students a greater choice in textbook ordering, New York University's four bookstores have been experimenting with the sale of digital textbooks this school year. NYU Bookstores began using CafeScribe's digital book service at the beginning of the school year and expects to begin selling digital books through Jumpbooks next fall. Although digital books are heralded as a way to reduce the cost of textbooks, a simple search suggests that digital volumes may not be the cheapest option for buyers.

Newly signed partnership with BookRenter brings together state-of-the-art textbook rental technology with the world’s largest wholesaler of used and new college textbooks

Encyclopaedia Britannica textbooks and an online study module will hit Indian schools from April 2010 in four subjects - computer science, mathematics, environmental studies and general knowledge

The climbing cost of college textbooks has been the subject of congressional hearings and legislative efforts in almost three dozen states. A federal law that takes effect in July is aimed at controlling textbook costs. It requires publishers to tell professors the price of textbooks when they choose books for classes, and it ends the practice of bundling

Readers can modify content on the Web, so why not in books?

Northwestern University First to Deploy VidyoConferencing to its Academic Community for “Telepresence-Quality” Video Communications Over the Internet

Who exactly is the market leader in textbook rentals is no longer just an academic debate. Online textbook rental service Chegg recently sent its rival BookRenter.co a lawyer letter (embedded below) demanding that it stop using the phrase "#1 In Textbook Rentals" on its Website. That is Chegg's marketing slogan, and it even registered the phrase as a trademark in 2008.

In an interview with CNBC, McGraw-Hill's CEO confirms that their textbooks will be on the Apple Tablet and it will be an iPhone OS based machine.