There are a number of reasons why Borders stumbled, but it's hard not to look at the changing landscape of publishing and the rise of e-books as having some small part to play in the company's decline. Unlike its competitors Barnes & Noble and Amazon, Borders opted not to build a branded e-reader device. It was also slow to move create an online platform with which to sell e-books, opting instead to partner with the Kobo, a spin-off of Canadian publishing company Indigo Books & Music. Kobo has provided a branded Borders e-bookstore and reader, accessible via the Kobo software and hardware.

What does Borders' bankruptcy mean for Kobo customers? "Nothing," says Kobo, stating its independence from Borders and its financial security.

"Your ebook library is perfectly safe," Kobo insists. "The Borders ebook experience is powered by Kobo, an entirely separate company from Borders. Kobo is financially secure and will continue to maintain your ebook library no matter what happens." Kobo says that it will continue to offer Borders books for sale through its apps.

Kobo says that it "realized long ago that diversification across retailers and markets was important as the book industry went into a period of radical transformation." That transformation may leave 200 some odd big box stories empty, as Borders shutters some of its outlets. But its e-books, through Kobo at least, will still be available.

Borders is the second largest book retailers in the U.S., after Barnes & Noble, but even so, Borders says "there can be no assurance" that these refinancing efforts will be successful in keeping the company afloat.

It isn't simply a downturn in the economy or in the publishing world that has put Borders in trouble. Unlike Barnes & Noble and Amazon, Borders has not built its own e-reader hardware. The company has partnered with Kobo, a spin-off of Canadian publishing company Indigo Books & Music, and offers a branded Borders e-bookstore and reader but only via the Kobo software and hardware.

As e-books have exploded in popularity, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have found themselves well placed, and there have been rumors of Borders buying Barnes & Noble, in no small part in order gain a share of the lucrative e-book business.

If Borders does go belly up, the results could have a ripple effect on the e-book industry. Kobo would clearly suffer by losing its major partner, a shame as Kobo is one of the few supporters for open-formats for publishing. But there seems to be plenty of other companies - Apple and Amazon - that have the (DRM) e-books ready to deliver.

With the basic package, BookBrewer will assign the book an ISBN - something that typically costs $125 value - and will make it available to all major eBookstores at a price set by the writer. Authors who purchase the advanced package will receive a full version of their ePub file, which they will own and may share with friends, family or submit on their own to eBook stores. An ePub file can be read with a variety of mobile devices, including the iPad.

Why BookBrewer?

While the various companies who offer self-publishing opportunities offer similar services - for either a flat fee or for a chunk of the royalties you can see your book in print (or, at least, you can read it in a digital format), BookBrewer boasts an entry point for independent authors that is very affordable. You can also create a sample version of your eBook - watermarked with "not for sale" - for free.

And BookBrewer is fast. When BookBrewer's COO and Creative Director Don Hajicek explained the process to me, he admitted that it took him longer to type the instructions in an email than it did to actually create the book. I've condensed his instructions, admittedly, but they go something like: click the "create eBook" button. Upload cover art. Name the book. Give author name and description, enter the RSS feed for his WordPress blog. Select the posts from the feed and rearrange and edit them. And click the "Create Sample eBook" button. Drag to iTunes. Sync with iPad. Done.

But cheaper and faster - although great - are only part of the reason that BookBrewer is onto something noteworthy here.

RSS: Building Our Own eBooks

While there is a lot of competition in the eBook and self-publishing space, one of the key features of BookBrewer is the ability to turn an RSS feed into a book. This will have appeal not simply for independent authors, but for bloggers and for educators.

Indeed, just last week the Chronicle of Higher Education asked, "As Textbooks Go Digital, Will Professors Build Their Own Books?" For those teachers (and edu-bloggers) interested in battling the high cost of textbooks by creating open source textbooks, BookBrewer's services may be worth exploring.

"According to Boston Consulting Group, high prices continue to be a barrier to eReader adoption. The consumer sweet spot for eReader cost (is) between $100 and $150. This positions Borders for strong consumer adoption and market penetration."

Given that their two primary competitors are getting wise to the "sweet spot" idea, will Borders have to get its hands dirty? Before it counted on being by far the most reasonably-priced of the offerings. But what does it have if it loses that to its better known rivals? We have asked Borders and will publish an update if they respond.

In the meantime, the iPad, which has sold several million in a couple of months, is despite its monthly fee, a threat for the time being.

Read more ReadWriteWeb coverage of e-readers and e-books.

Border's E-Book Store: Powered by Kobo

Unlike its competitors, Borders does not plan to run its own e-book store. Instead, it will offer its customers a "Borders branded eBook store powered by Kobo." Borders is one of the major investors in Kobo, which is a spin-off of Canadian publishing company Indigo Books & Music. It's not clear if Borders' e-book apps for the iPhone and other platforms will also be re-branded versions of Kobo's apps. Kobo launched its iPad app last week (iTunes link).

Borders is clearly trying to get a foothold in the market for cheap e-book readers. According to a survey by Forrester Research, most consumers are not willing to pay more than $100 for a dedicated e-reader. This survey, however, pre-dates the iPad, and chances are that Apple's tablet has skewed peoples' expectations of what an e-reader should look like. As we also noted last week, the market for dedicated e-readers will likely peak within the next two years, as consumers flock to tablet computers instead.

Borders Site Design

The site design may remind users of Shelfari, a social book sharing service to connect readers with similar interests. On the homepage of Borders, the latest books are displayed on a virtual shelf called "The Magic Shelf". When you first head to the site, users can interact with the shelf to see the latest book releases and more. For registered users, the magic shelf is customizable with the option to view books, DVDs, and music from select genres. The shelf design also extends over to the recommendations page for easy browsing. All in all, the interface is clean and doesn't appear to be cluttered. Borders design UI beats Amazon's by a mile and provides customers with a clean and unique experience instead of clouding the front page with recommendations and news.

Borders Media

Borders also dives into media with Borders Media. Borders Media provides a section for customers to watch live store performances on Borders Live at 01, famous chefs at work in the Borders Kitchen, and living room book discussions with authors on the Borders Book Club. The user interface is consistent with the homepage design, making the site easy to navigate.

Stiff Competition

Borders supplies a host of deals and discounts for those that shop at the retailer's site. We think this will be one of the key strategies against giant competitors such as Amazon and Barnes and Nobles along with their competitive pricings. With their competitors already well established online, it will be interesting to see what else Borders cooks up. Another thing we appreciate is the direction Borders took with their site design. Borders made a very smart move by not competing with Amazon and Barnes and Nobles when it comes to site design, and opted for something users may find refreshing. So far, Borders has made a lot of the right moves in order to compete.

Then in January of this year, Author Solutions, Inc., who own AuthorHouse and iUniversere -- both POD publishers on the full-service end of the spectrum -- launched a new Lulu-esque service called Wordclay. Wordclay offers a menu of do-it-yourself and premium services including, printing, distribution, editing, and design (or, the iUniverse package offered a la carte). Wordclay currently only offers black and white paperback publishing, with hardcover and color publishing coming later this year.

Earlier this month, Lulu made waves by announcing a partnership with Borders -- the second largest bookseller in the US -- to power kiosks in new concept stores where customers can upload and sell POD books. They'll also provide the muscle for an online print on demand service called Borders Personal Publishing. Participants in the program may have the option to take part in in-store activities, such as author readings and book signings.

It is also probably worth mentioning that along with the release of their Kindle eBook reader (our coverage), Amazon has provided a method for authors to self publish books to the Kindle Marketplace, which has prompted some authors to take rather innovative approaches to the publishing process.

Why all the sudden movement in the POD space? Wordclay president Dave McCauley equates it to the evolution of the music industry. "Really, it's like music," he told me. "10 years ago it was all about big labels, now it's all about the independent artists, with MP3s and MySpace." The book publishing industry is just a little behind the times.

"I think what the industry is trying to do is remove all the barriers," he said. According to McCauley, in the traditional pubishing industry publishers put in a lot of time and money to overcome barriers to get to market -- things like editing, layout, design, distribution, and marketing. What POD publishers are doing, is using web 2.0 tools to try and break down those barriers and put publishing tools in the hands of authors.

For less serious writers, who don't want to get their books on store shelves but rather just want to publish a few copies for family and friends, there are casual POD publishers as well. CafePress has offered print on demand books since 2003 without all the bells and whistles of more author-centric services, and Blurb, which launched at DEMO in 2006, specializes in more visual books and books based on blogs and photo sharing sites.

While there is still a certain negative stigma associated with self publishing, the tools to do it cheaply, easily, and effectively are continually getting better. It's also nice to see that even though, as Steve Jobs says, people don't read anymore, at least what people are writing is being given more of an opportunity to be read.