Application and development of electronic books in an e‐Gutenberg age

Since Gutenberg invented printing in the fifteenth century, the book has become one of the most important information carriers for knowledge distribution, academic research, cultural heritage, and preservation. With advancements in technology both of electronic publishing and universal distribution and access on the Internet, the electronic book is supposed to become another revolution for information dissemination. This paper examines electronic books by giving a review of their historical development, definition and scope, characteristics and constraints, typology, related issues for library services, and user preferences. Consequently, this paper finds that electronic books only bring several evolutionary changes to the current operations of publishing and distribution in comparison with traditional books. The electronic book is just as much a consequence of the application of innovative information technologies as Gutenberg’s were for paper books. A revolutionary change is still required for the electronic book to become ubiquitous.