A Linked Data Model for E-books

This paper proposes and develops a conceptual model for the rigorous representation, design, and utilization of e-books using RDF (Resource Description Framework) as the modeling language. The conceptual model views an e-book as a new type of information object with a complex structure in which its content is broken down into atomic units called "content nodes" and semantically linked together to form a hypermedia database. Content nodes can be of different media types such as images, video clips, text, etc. and the content could come from different sources including the LOD (Linked Open Data) cloud. As a result, an e-book could serve as a distributed semantic hypermedia database. This new way of viewing ebooks will increase the potential and benefits of e-books. A reader could read them as a well-structured book or query their distributed but connected content as a semantic hypermedia database. The conceptual model has been verified to satisfy all major requirements for e-books and support all their necessary operations.