On World Book Day on April 23, the Hong Kong Publishing Federation officially launched the "Publishing 3.0 - Hong Kong Smart E-book Hub" project for the publishing industry to participate in. This is a one-stop service platform that combines e-book publishing conversion platform and intelligent e-book library.
The e-book publishing conversion platform is mainly used by publishers and writers. Through the "artificial intelligence system" of the logistics and supply chain multi-technology research and development center (LSCM), published books and periodicals are translated into English e-books. In addition, the platform also uses "Text to Speech (TTS)" to directly translate text e-books into "audio books" in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.
Hong Kong citizens can also register an account on this online platform, and later read and listen to some chapters of the book for free. However, due to the initial stage of the program, the organizers are still recruiting publishers and authors to participate, and the e-book publishing conversion platform will take time to produce e-books and audiobooks. It is expected that the free trial and trial listening functions will be available at a later time.
The Hong Kong Publishing Federation stated that more than 40 publishing houses have participated so far, and it is hoped that all publishing houses in Hong Kong will also be able to use its e-book library platform in the future. They hope that through this plan, the local publishing industry will be encouraged to apply cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, promote the transformation and upgrading of the industry, and assist the industry to produce high-quality electronic publications by themselves. At the same time, works with potential in the international market will be selected to build the brand of "Hong Kong Smart E-book Hub" and promote it in Hong Kong and overseas. It is understood that the Hong Kong Publishing Federation will participate in the Hong Kong Book Fair in July and the Frankfurt Book Fair in October for exhibitions and sharing sessions, aiming to promote Hong Kong as a regional copyright center for e-books and audiobooks.
"Publishing 3.0 – Hong Kong Smart E-book Hub" Official Website