MANILA, Philippines — Technology is perceived as a threat to literacy and the habit of reading. But for the 21st century reader, the variety in formats, better access, and experiences to enjoy certainly open up new worlds for reading.

Proving that reading never goes out of style even in the age of technology, the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) lists the top book-related technologies beyond the printed page.

Slated on Sept 14 to 18, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, MIBF marks its 32nd year as the paramount event of the Philippine book industry.

MIBF showcases the largest and most varied collection of literature, textbooks, educational supplements, general references, religious and inspirational titles, self-help books, management books, Filipiniana, coffee table books, popular novels, children's books, art books, graphic novels, rare and hard-to-find titles, magazines, audio and e-books, multimedia, teaching supplies and services, publishers' technology, and travel materials.

E-Books. 

With the rise of dedicated e-readers and tablets computers, ebooks have become a popular choice for the tech-savvy reader. Downloadable in seconds from anywhere in the world, portable, space-saving are the qualities prized by e-book readers, while publishers value the low production cost, faster distribution, and efficient storage. Dedicated e-readers feature e-ink, a technology that mimics the look of paper and reduces the eyestrain that is a common problem for backlit gadgets.

E-readers also often have specia lfeatures such as a built-in dictionary, annotation capabilities, wi-fi. Public libraries abroad are already lending out ebooks, with the files becoming inaccessible after the loan period.

E-Learning. 

Because kids are adapting to technology at a younger age, academic institutions have been acquiring elearning technology, especially after DepEd issued the policy directing the incorporation of information communications technology (ICT) into school curricula.

Diwa Learning System’s GENYO is a fully integrated e-learning program that has multimedia content for five key learning areas: Science, Math, English and Araling Panlipunan. GENYO comes with an authoring tool that allows teachers to customize pages, a teacher training program that helps them become effective educators, access to an online learning portal (GENYO Online at www. genyo.idiwa.ph), ICT strategic management services, network consulting, and technical support.

To bridge the gap in academic achievement of Filipino students in the key areas of Math and Reading, Scholasticintroduces educational technology in their Assessment and Enrichment Programs (AEP) to augment classroom education.

Both Scholastic AEP-Reading and AEP-Math use computer-adaptive assessment (using Lexile Framework for reading and Quantile Framework for math), and provide both explicit skills instruction and enrichment activities.

On-Demand Publishing.

The Espresso Book Machine made waves all over the world when it was first introduced in 2007, because of its ability to print, collate, cover, and bind a book in seconds, with just one push of a button. It has since then been installed in the US, Canada, Australia.

In the Philippines, Central Books uses state of the art technology to print books on demand, with print runs as small as 50 copies or as big as 1000 copies. In matter of minutes and at feasible costs, books meet the highest standards in book production. Books are also archived in an electronic library and can be reprinted anytime.

Online Bookstores.

Get a new stash of books without leaving the comfort of your home, via online bookstores that allow you to order from the selection in their database, and conveniently have them  delivered on your doorstep.

National Book Store (http://nationalbookstore. com) processes orders daily and ships within the Philippines in 2-5 days, and abroad at standard delivery schedules. For books not available in the Philippines, the Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.com/) is an online bookstore that offers free shipping worldwide.

Book Blogs and Social Networking sites. 

Finding fellow bookworms online is no trouble – Filipino book bloggers are a growing force in the blogosphere (http://filipinobookbloggers.wordpress.

com/), while Filipino book clubs are headquartered in bookish social networks Shelfari (Flips Flipping Pages) and Good Reads (The Filipino Group).

Central Books, Diwa Learning Systems, Scholastic, and National Book Store are exhibitors at the Manila International Book Fair. The Filipino Book Bloggers are holding the First Filipino Reader Conference on Sept. 14, 1-6 pm at Meeting Room 2 at the MIBF.

For details, call 896-0661 or 896-0682, or e-mail bookfair@primetradeasia.com