What is Inhibiting the Proliferation of E-books in the Academic Library?

Abstract

In the mid 1990’s many academic libraries began the transition to electronic holdings, specifically e-serials and e-books. Since this time services such as JSTOR and OVID have come to play an integral role in the dissemination of journal articles. E-book platforms such as Springer and MyiLibrary have also made an appearance in the academic library however not to the extent that e-serials have. This has left many wondering if and when e-books will achieve what their serial counterpart has. What is inhibiting the expansion of academic e-books collections will be examined, including issues surrounding their lack luster history, Digital Rights Management, reading tools and advertisement.