EPUB 3 Specification Public Draft Released

February 15, 2011

(Press Release) February 15, 2011 NEW YORK CITY  (at O'Reilly Tools of Change 2011 Conference)

The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) today announced the publication of the first Public Draft of EPUB® 3,  available at http://idpf.org/epub/30 . EPUB 3 is the next major revision of the EPUB standard interchange and delivery format for digital books and publications. EPUB is the XML and Web Standards based format that has become a key global standard in the rapidly developing digital publishing industry, enabling content to be portable across devices and Reading Systems. EPUB 3, based on HTML5, delivers support for key emerging requirements for digital publications including video, audio, scripting & interactivity, vertical writing and other global language capabilities, improved accessibility, MathML, and styling & layout enhancements. 

"EPUB is a shining example of a truly community-developed open standard" said Bill McCoy, Executive Director of the IDPF. "EPUB 3 is taking the standard to a whole new level, and promises to be a fantastic innovation platform to enable authors, publishers, and other participants in the ecosystem to deliver the future of digital publications to billions of readers around the world. I'm extremely gratified by the intense engagement of IDPF member organization representatives and Invited Experts from around the world who have come together in the EPUB Working Group to rapidly forge this major advancement".

EPUB 3 has been in active development since May, 2010.  This initial Public Draft is intended for Member and public comment, as well as for trial use by early implementors. The final Recommended Specification of EPUB 3 is anticipated by mid 2011.

At the O'Reilly Tools of Change 2011 Conference today, IDPF President George Kerscher and EPUB Working Group members Keith Fahlgren, Bill Kasdorf and Robert Kasher will provide an in-depth first look at the forthcoming revision in the session "All about EPUB 3".

About the IDPF
 
The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) is the global trade and standards organization for the digital publishing industry. IDPF is responsible for EPUB, the open standard digital publication format based on XML and Web technology, and organizes industry events such as Digital Book 2011 at BookExpo. The IDPF is a not for profit organization with over 175 members, comprising publishers, vendors, libraries and organizations from 22 different countries. For more information visit http://idpf.org . EPUB is a registered trademark of the IDPF.

 

 

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