Books on screens : players in the Swedish e-book market

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 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 is 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 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 digitization of the book is an ongoing process and the current e-book is not the end of the story.