Books on Screens

The music and film industries have long come to terms with the digital, and now the traditional printed book is challenged by digital formats. The e-book has become established in most countries, but is still a small part of the book industry. In this book a group of researchers follow the actors involved in the Swedish e-book market, from authors and publishers to libraries, booksellers and readers during 2012-2016. Using surveys, interviews and other sources the main actors were researched and it is shown how they act and react towards the e-book and towards each other. While the main focus in on Sweden as a small language country, several international comparisons are made.

Are printed books disappearing soon? How are reading habits changing when the book becomes digital? Which forces are driving radical change and which are holding it back? The book discusses these and related questions and shows that after a period of rapid increase in the production and use of e-books, several factors slow down the rate of adoption, but digitisation of the book is an ongoing process and the current e-book is not the end of the story.

Content

• Tables and figures
• Acknowledgement
• Preface 

1. Introduction
2. The e-book as a technological and social innovation
3. The conceptual framework 
4. The e-book market. Global forces and local differences
5. Cultural policy and legal issues
6. The authors and e-books. Opinions and practice
7. Publishers and the e-book
8. Selling the e-book
9. Swedish public libraries and the e-book
10. E-books in Swedish academic libraries
11. Reading and readers
12. Conclusion

• The Authors