Library Hi Tech

Purpose – In Spain, recent experiences by publishing houses are related to the new market of electronic books and they will change the current publishing scene in no time. The paper aims to discuss some of them and to give an outlook of future developments in the sector and in the libraries.

Design/methodology/approach – In order to develop the current situation of electronic publishing and the research on the initiatives of production and sales of electronic books, the authors used statistical and business sources, as well as bibliographic and reference databases. They assessed the experiences that have been developed in the libraries regarding the lending and use of electronic books, by means of a survey that considers these points.

Findings – There are several working experiences with electronic books, mainly through the subscription of collections in university and research libraries. However, the latest innovation is represented by the appearance of initiatives for the production and creation of publishing contents in Spain. The publication of electronic books in Spain has gone from being a mid-term possibility, calmly accepted by the publishing sector, to being an unstoppable reality that has forced the main actors in this field to take their positions and to adopt immediate initiatives.

Originality/value – This is the first time that an analysis of the sector of electronic books in Spain and their implications for library and publishing sector is done.