Abstract:
Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to errata sheet management for published documents and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for errata sheet notification aggregation. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for errata sheet handling in an e-commerce system can be provided. The method can include registering a customer for errata sheet notification for a publication externally to a publisher of the publication and also externally to a publisher of errata sheets for the publication. The method further can include providing a notification to the customer of the publication of the errata sheet in response to determining the publication of an errata sheet for the publication by the publisher of errata sheets for the publication.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of e-commerce for printed materials and more particularly to errata slip publication for printed materials. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    The publishing of printed subject matter has always been subject to human error despite best efforts to produce an error free publication. The process of printed materials publishing involves the drafting of printed material followed by the iterative editing of the printed material ultimately resulting in the typesetting and publication of the printed material in hard copy form or soft copy electronic form. Once published, however, the printed material can be subject to revisions of varying scale. The revisions when relatively insignificant can result in a mere update to the printed material, while more significant revisions can require a new edition to the printed material. For typographical and other very minor revisions, however, neither an update nor a new edition is provided. Rather, an errata sheet can be published separately from the publication of the printed material. 
         [0005]    An errata sheet is a tabular listing of corrections to an associated publication. Traditionally published for distribution with a work of authorship, errata sheets often include typographical corrections that had been identified subsequent to final editing but prior to final publication and distribution. With the advent of electronic distribution of printed materials, errata sheets often are published and distributed online in electronic format. When an errata sheet is distributed separately from the distribution of a publication, it remains incumbent upon the purchaser of the publication to affirmatively locate and print an errata sheet online. Many consumers, however, are not accustomed to such behavior, and in consequence, remain unaware and without possession of an errata sheet for a purchased work of authorship. This is particularly unfortunate for books of instruction, such as cookbooks, craft pattern books, or history texts. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to errata sheet management for published documents and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for errata sheet notification aggregation. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for errata sheet handling in an e-commerce system can be provided. The method can include registering a customer for errata sheet notification for a publication externally to a publisher of the publication. The method further can include providing a notification to the customer of the publication of the errata sheet in response to determining the publication of an errata sheet for the publication by the publisher of errata sheets for the publication. 
         [0007]    In another embodiment of the invention, an errata sheet notification data processing system can be provided. The system can include a host server hosting an errata sheet service supporting an errata sheet aggregator. The program code can be enabled to register a customer for errata sheet notification for a publication and to provide a notification to the customer of the publication of an errata sheet for the publication responsive to detecting publication of the errata sheet by an externally disposed errata sheet publisher. Optionally, an aggregation server can be coupled to the host server and configured to process electronic purchases of the publication over a computer communications network. For example, the aggregation server can support a Web based system for an online seller of publications, or a point of sale system for a brick and mortar based retailer of publications, or the aggregation server can support the Web based auction of publications. Yet further, the host server can be the aggregation server. 
         [0008]    Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The aspects of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial illustration of a process for errata sheet notification aggregation; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of an e-commerce data processing system configured for errata sheet notification aggregation; and, 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for errata sheet notification aggregation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for errata sheet notification aggregation. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, printed publications can be published by different publishers and distributed to different consumers through an e-commerce aggregator. In the course of distributing the printed publications to the different consumers, electronic messaging addresses for the consumers can be recorded in association with respectively distributed ones of the printed publications. Thereafter, as errata sheets become available for the different printed publications, the different publishers can provide notice to the aggregator which in turn can provide an electronic message to affected ones of the consumers of the availability of an errata sheet. Notably, the management of errata sheet notification be provided by an errata service separate from the aggregator, or as part of the aggregation operations of the aggregator. 
         [0014]    In further illustration,  FIG. 1  is a pictorial illustration of a process for errata sheet notification aggregation. As shown in  FIG. 1 , different publishers  130  can publish different publications  140  for distribution to one or more consumers  110  through aggregator  120 . The aggregator  120  can function as an e-commerce distributor of the publications  140  to the different consumers  110 . Typical examples of an aggregator  120  can include a Web based e-tailor of publications or a Web based online auction. The aggregator  120  either internally or through a third party errata service can maintain an association  150  of consumers  110  to acquired publications  140 . In particular, the association  150  can include a network address for the different consumers  110  to which notifications can be sent. In an alternate embodiment, the customer network address may be kept in a customer or subscriber database. 
         [0015]    From time to time, one or more errata sheets  160  can be published by the publishers  130  for respective ones of the publications  140 . Either the aggregator  120  or an errata service associated with the aggregator  120  can monitor the publishers  130  for the publication of errata sheets  160 . When an errata sheet  160  is published for a particular one of the publications  140 , the aggregator  120  can locate corresponding entries in the association  150  and the aggregator  120  can forward a notification  170  to each of the consumers  110  associated with the particular one of the publications  140 . In this way, the consumers  110  can maintain an ongoing awareness of the errata sheets  160  without requiring the consumers  110  and the publishers  130  to directly interact with one another. This notification may include the details of the errata sheet. 
         [0016]    The process shown in  FIG. 1  can be performed in an e-commerce data processing environment. In illustration,  FIG. 2  schematically depicts an e-commerce data processing system configured for errata sheet notification aggregation. The system can include a client computing platform  210  coupled to an aggregation server  220  over computer communications network  200 . The aggregation server  220  can be configured to provide distribution of publications  260  on behalf of publishers. In this regard, the aggregation server  220  can be communicatively coupled to publisher server  240  so as to exchange communications between aggregation server  220  and publisher server  240 . The communications can range from simple notification of the availability of an errata sheet  290  for the publication  260  to business-to-business e-commerce transactions. 
         [0017]    Notably, an errata service server  250  acting as a host server supporting an errata sheet service can be coupled to the aggregation server  220  over the computer communications network  200 . The errata service server  250  can include a data store  230  configured to store associations between consumers and publications and the errata service server  250  can be configured to support the execution of an errata sheet aggregator  300 . The errata sheet aggregator  300  can include program code enabled to process a registration message  270 A from aggregation server  220 , or from client  210  to store in the data store  230  an association between a customer and a publication. Optionally, in lieu of storing an identity of a customer in association with a publication an encrypted identifier can be provided for the customer so as to preserve the privacy of the customer and to provide the anonymous registration of the customer for errata sheet notification. 
         [0018]    The program code of the errata sheet aggregator  300  yet further can be configured to provide an errata sheet notice  270 B to the aggregation server  220  responsive to detecting publication of an errata sheet  290  for publication  260 . In this regard, the errata sheet aggregator  300  can be configured to monitor the publisher server  240  to detect publication an errata sheet  290  for the publication  260 . In response to detecting publication of the errata sheet  290 , at least one errata sheet notice  270 B can be forwarded to the aggregation server  220  indicating availability of the errata sheet for each associated customer associated with the publication  260 . The aggregation server  220  in turn can forward a customer notice  280  to the client computing platform  210  at a network address for an associated customer so that the customer can retrieve the errata sheet  290  from the publisher server  240 . Where only an encrypted customer identifier is provided to the errata service server  250 , the aggregation server  220  first can correlate the identifier with a network address for an associated customer. In an alternate embodiment, the errata sheet aggregator  300  can forward the errata sheet notification directly to the customer. 
         [0019]    In yet further illustration of the operation of the errata sheet aggregator  300 ,  FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for errata sheet notification aggregation. The process can begin in block  310  with the receipt of a registration transaction requesting registration of a customer in association with a publication and optionally, a publisher of the publication. In block  320 , the network address of the customer can be determined from the transaction and in block  330 , the customer identity can be stored in association with the publication and optionally, the publisher. In one aspect of the embodiment, only an alias for the customer identity can be stored in lieu of the customer identity. 
         [0020]    In block  340 , the publisher can be polled for the publication of an errata sheet for the publication. For example, the publisher can proactively provide notification of the publication of an errata sheet, or the publisher can be monitored for the publication of an errata sheet. In decision block  350 , it can be determined if an errata sheet has been published for the publication. If so, in block  360 , the customers associated with the publication can be retrieved and in block  370 , an errata sheet notification can be provided to the customers in association with the publication. In this way, the customers can remain apprised of the publication of errata sheets without proactively investigating the publication of errata sheets directly with the publisher. 
         [0021]    Embodiments of the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, and the like. Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. 
         [0022]    For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD. 
         [0023]    A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution. Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters.