E-books have yet to catch on. Sales of electronic books at the Ditan Book Fair were less brisk than for traditional printed ones.
The China Encyclopaedia was among the first batch of E-books released in China in 2002. It's among the very few E-books sold at the Beijing Ditan Book Fair. E-books hold a very tiny percentage of the market share.
Xu Guangyu, a staff member of China Encyclopedia Publishing House said, "We haven't released many E-books after one of the China Encyclopaedia. Printed books sell much better."
Limited market share and copyright protection difficulties are the reasons publishers aren't enthusiastic about E-books. But the E-book has its advantage.
A fair visitor said, "I like E-books. They're convenient to carry around. With an MP3 or MP4 player, I can read it on bus or subway."
"E-books can be downloaded easily from the internet, and be put into my cellphone."
Statistics put China's e-book readers at 79 million, but the number of e-books lags far behind.
"Some older books have e-versions, but the newly published books like "Dulala raises in the ranks" and a recent book by Eileen Chang don't."
Dr. Liu Peng from China Renmin University said, "Reading an e-book is an experience that is quite different than reading printed books. The habit of reading an e-book can be cultivated with the times."
Besides personal computers, MP3, MP4 or cell phones, e-books can be read on dedicated hardware devices. The China National Library is providing such devices for its readers. And patrons will be able to borrow them in the near future.
(CCTV May 14, 2009)
