To aid with content discovery and on its iBookstore, Apple will be requiring publishers to assign an "interest-age" to e-books distributed to children, teens and young adults, including titles tagged as "educational."
As Apple moves forward with its iBooks education initiative, the digital storefront is reaching an entirely new audience of young readers. This is especially true given the company's 2013 iTunes rules revision that allows pre-teens to open an account for educational purposes.
In a notice sent out through iTunes Connect, provided by AppleInsider reader Gregg, Apple informed publishers and developers that interest age information will be a required asset for all book deliveries in Juvenile Fiction; Children's, Young Adult, and Educational; and Jeunesse. The rule will be implemented from June 2014.
No explanation was given as to the interest-age addition, though it can be speculated that Apple is looking to direct young readers to age-appropriate content.
Also mentioned was the expansion of textbook availability to 51 territories served by iBooks. Apple announced the educational push into Asia, Latin America and Europe last month The service announcement came two years after Apple first launched its digital textbook initiative, which sought to transform the iPad into a dynamic learning tool.