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E-books in academic libraries: Challenges for sharing and use

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

Published online on

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent literature on e-book sharing and use in post-secondary libraries, exploring current restrictions on viewing, printing, downloading, circulation, and interlibrary loan. It also discusses the ways in which these restrictions influence the library lending of e-book readers and other mobile devices. The most fundamental problems include restrictive license provisions, proprietary software and file formats, digital rights management (DRM), and the single-user business model adopted by many e-book vendors.