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Penguin, the publishing house, will release new “ebooks” at the same time as it produces a print edition in order to feed a growing demand for digital books.

Pearson, the UK media group which owns Penguin, said that books from the publishing house, from its travel division and from the Dorling Kindersley brand, will be available to download from its website and from digital retailers from September.

The electronically-available books will come out at the same time as the print editions and will cost the same.

The simultaneous release of both eBook and print editions is significant. Most publishers who have jumped into the eBook market have released backlist titles so as not to divert attention from their frontlist. Penguin is signaling that they believe the digital market can coexist with the print market, not take away from it. For those publishers who are still timid, Penguin’s strategy will be something to watch closely.

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“Artifacts like the Waldseemüller map (the first to include the name “America”), the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible and original volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s Library will be virtually at your fingertips. You’ll be able to flip through their pages, magnify sections of interest and access commentary from the Library’s top experts-all on the same touch screen,” the Library of Congress’ website informs the public.

Digital technology is not something new for libraries, but Librarian of Congress James Billington assured the public that the exhibit is “unlike anything the Library of Congress has undertaken in the past,” allowing visitors to see “stunning detail up close that we’ve only had a general idea of before.”

Eventually, this stuff will be available via the web, so you won’t have to travel to Washington DC to access LOC materials.

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I’ll let you know if I see a giant Kindle helium balloon floating from the rafters of Earl’s Court 1. Pictures will follow.

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Kindle

The Kindle electronic book reader, now four months old, is another primary cog in Amazon’s digital strategy. Sales across the book publishing industry are flat; e-books represent one possible future. But the first priority for Amazon is actually getting the device into people’s hands. The company has experienced constant shortages since the Kindle went on sale in December.

“We obviously want to get it fully in stock as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Freed, vice president in charge of the Kindle.

Mr. Freed said that the Kindle was first and foremost a reading device, but that it could also serve as a platform for at least some of Amazon’s other digital offerings. The device can play MP3 files and audio books from Audible, the online audio book retailer that Amazon bought last month for $300 million.

In general, Amazon’s digital team expresses urgency but does not appear to be in a rush. Mr. Kessel noted that it took the company five to seven years to build many of its businesses — books, consumer electronics — to maturity. He expects digital offerings to follow the same path.

A few observations - I find it difficult to believe that Amazon will try to position Kindle as a multi-use device. Most people will use an iPod to listen to an audio book rather than tote around a device that’s easily three times that size. And while they didn’t mention the Kindle as “movie” ready, I’d hardly be convinced that Amazon wants to meet Apple head-on in this market. The future of the downloadable movie is the flat screen television in the living room, not another portable device.

The best thing Amazon can do is continue is find customers for Kindle. To do that, they must refine the hardware. Make it smarter, sexier, and more robust. Oh, and bring the price down too.

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Sales for the most popular books are in the hundreds, comparable to the number for the Sony Reader, which came out in 2006.

“The Kindle has increased awareness. Publishers have told me that in some cases the Sony numbers were double or triple to what they had been,” says Michael Smith, head of the International Digital Publishing Forum, which tracks e-book sales.

While Kindle owners are loving the device and reading more because of it, the eBook reader hasn’t come close to reaching critical mass just yet, most likely due to its steep price. The Kindle sells for $399.

Public sightings of eBook devices like the Kindle remain rare compared to iPods and even iPhones. But, the industry has jumped in. Companies like Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Random House use Sony Readers to review book manuscripts.

eBook sales are growing. The market was $6 million in 2002 and is now measured at around $33 million. Still, eBook sales are less than 1% of the $35 billion dollar publishing business.

More: Why eBook readers don’t stand a chance.

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Hyperion President and founding publisher Robert S. Miller is bailing on that company to “launch a new global publishing program based on a non-traditional business model” at HarperCollins.

According to the press release, “Miller will publish approximately 25 popular-priced books per year in multiple physical and digital formats including those as yet unspecified, with the aim to combine the best practices of trade publishing while taking full advantage of the internet for sales, marketing and distribution. Authors will be compensated through a profit sharing model as opposed to a traditional royalty, and books will be promoted utilizing on-line publicity, advertising and marketing.” Translation, probably: Whatever it is that Bob will be publishing will be printed on demand, or you will be able to read it on your Kindle-type device, or, eventually, by using implanted technology in your eyeballs that will allow you to turn pages by blinking.

Knowing as much as I do about the publishing industry, Emily at Galleycat probably isn’t too far off with her guestimate of Miller’s plans. Here’s hoping though that whatever Bob Miller accomplishes at HC, it leans heavily toward the new business model side of things. New ideas are few and proactivity is low in publisherland. I’ll be watching…

UPDATE: You gotta love this headline from the Wall Street Journal. Is that a way to freak out authors or what?

More: P.Viktor chimes in with an authors opinion on HarperCollins’ new program.

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It’s great that a traditional book publisher like Penguin is embracing this kind of project. Publishers need to experiment with technology - mobile, online and offline as well. Yet they still need to focus on doing things that make money. It’s not clear to me what the business model is behind “We Tell Stories”, other than the normal hope that page visits will translate into print book sales at Penguin’s website.

Nonetheless, it’s clear Penguin has a foothold in digital publishing. They’re taking risks to discover what works. That’s better than many book publishers who are content to wait and see.

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Fast forward to today. Overdrive has unveiled drawings and details of a travelling community outreach exhibit entitled the Digital Bookmobile. In August, the techno truck will host hands-on, interactive training events at public libraries in major cities in the U.S. The exhibit will help libraries promote a digital media catalog and present the idea of the “virtual branch”. Learning stations will demonstrate how to search for digital media, use mobile devices and download eBooks, music and video.

Something tells me the adults will get more out of this than the kids. After all, they already know how to use all this stuff. At least my kids do. Still, it’s a great way to bring the technology to the people, and let them realize first hand how useful digital resources can be.

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