There is a lot of churn going on in the publishing world and the textbook segment of that industry is no different. In fact, it may be experiencing more upheaval and change than is the industry as a whole, though that would be very hard to quantify. Everyone in the publishing trade is adapting to the digital world in one way or another.

Today’s market size focuses on an industry in which eTextbooks are but a small part. The market size comes from a press release about a new market study. The elaborate title of that study is “Global Smart Education & Learning Market Advanced Technologies, Digital Models, Adoption Trends & Worldwide Market Forecast (2012—2017),” a title whose very complexity says a lot about the market being studied. That market, as defined by the study authors, includes far more than eTextbooks. It includes software applications, electronic libraries, curriculum systems, and much more. This market “caters to the needs of national governments and international standard bodies, educators from all streams and from different levels, stakeholders for training and workforce skills.”

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2011
Market size: $73.8 billion, of which, the North American market accounted for approximately 60% of this total revenue.
Source: “Global Smart Education and Learning Market Is Expected to Reach a Value of $220 Billion by 2017, New Report Says,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 2013, available online here.
Original source: Research And Markets
Posted on March 7, 2013