Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Church Publishing launches BCP ebook

Church Publishing Incorporated has successfully launched two new eBook editions of the Book of Common Prayer to accommodate a variety of applications and most eReader platforms, including all versions of Kindle, Apple, plus other devices and tablets.

"We're not the first to offer an  electronic edition of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), but we wanted to offer the best version possible in multiple formats to cover the widest range of liturgical needs," said Brother Karekin Yarian, Church Publishing's project manager - eProducts.

Church Publishing's eBook edition, available for all eReaders, contains the complete contents of the authorized 1979 Book of Common Prayer, is fully searchable, and features a built-in Table of Contents. This edition is designed to maximize content accessibility on mobile devices and tablets. However, because eBooks are designed to reflow the text according to the size of the screen of the mobile device, designing this edition to maintain the exact page layout and page numbers of the print edition "was neither possible nor desirable," Brother Karekin explained, "As such, the layout of the content may be different, depending on the device you are using."

Church Publishing also offers a PDF version of the Book of Common Prayer, which is available on the Church Publishing website. Each of these versions is hyperlinked and has bookmarking capability. 

"These eBooks give Episcopalians easy access to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, making it as close as your tablet or eBook reader. I'm delighted that Church Publishing is responding to the needs of the church in this way," said Ruth Meyers, Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific and a member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for the Episcopal Church.

"Electronic books are becoming fully integrated now within the life of the Church, so we're meeting the needs of our customers with a variety of digital products," said Church Publishing's Davis Perkins, publisher.  "In addition to an already significant assortment of digital resources, including our eHymnals, riteworship, Living the Good News Online, and Weaving God's Promises curriculums, plus more than 500 CPI titles available as eBooks, the electronic editions of the BCP demonstrate our commitment to delivering important content for the Church via every available channel."