E-Books a Logical Step

Drawing conclusions about the future of the e-book industry from the publishing experiments of Stephen King is like drawing conclusions about the judicial system on the basis of the O.J. Simpson trial: It is hardly what you would call a typical case [“E-Books: Much Ado About Nothing Much?” July 24].

E-books will not replace the printed book, any more than television replaced movies, but they allow for the manipulation and enhancement of the text in ways that are simply not possible with printed books. The equivalent of thousands of pages can be stored in a lightweight device not much bigger than a paperback.

Readers can quickly search and navigate text for a specific word or section. Text can be enlarged for readers with disabilities. E-books eliminated the need for minimum print runs, remainders, going out of print or dead trees.

E-books are the next logical step in fully exploiting the ability of the Internet to quickly and efficiently distribute information. Certainly the industry is still maturing, still grappling with significant issues and developing key technologies. Those issues are being resolved and the technologies are in the pipeline because e-books are a sound concept with a future.

MARY WALKER

Vice president

ThreeOwlsPress.com

Cypress