Electronic books

Most scientific journals have an electronic version, but book publishers have been much slower to make their material available in electronic format. Some publishers of medical books have experimented with making some content available online, but only a few have sold content to readers. The consensus has been to “wait and see.” Concerns have been raised about digital piracy, the high costs of securing content, and whether readers want book length material in electronic format. The BMJ Bookshop has, however, just launched a scheme to make medical books available in electronic format from its own website (www.bmjbookshop.com).

Electronic books (widely called ebooks) will be available from the site in various formats to view on desktop or laptop computers or on personal digital assistants or PDA (handheld) devices. Around 20 million people in the United States currently own a PDA,¹ and most doctors have one. Take up outside the United States is currently lower but is likely to increase rapidly.

The BMJ 's scheme is starting with titles published by BMJ Books, but titles from other publishers will be added shortly.

The benefits of books in electronic format mirror those of electronic journals; doctors worldwide with an internet connection can access content instantly, and savings in production costs mean that content can be sold more cheaply than in print. Titles to view onscreen appear in portable document format or PDF and so retain the original layout of the print copy. PDA content is being sold in a format that means that the same file will work on most handheld devices (Palm and Pocket PC included). The format is easy to navigate and search. Special “reader” software must be downloaded and installed when an ebook is purchased for the first time. Downloading the ebook file can take anything from a few seconds to 10 minutes, depending on the extent of the content and the speed of the user's internet connection. Payment is made by credit or debit card and is processed securely online in real time. Ebooks can be updated often, and the boundaries between ebooks and ejournals will undoubtedly blur.

Will readers embrace ebooks in the way they have electronic journals? For portability, readability, design, and general ease of use paper books are hard to beat. PDF technology allows readers to do things that are impossible with paper—for example, search for a particular phrase—but sometimes a turned over corner is still the most efficient way to get to the information you need. Plus you can take an average size book anywhere, and the batteries never run out.

The launch of ebooks from our bookshop site is an experiment, just as launching the BMJ online was seven years ago. In a world of information overload and changing technologies the book publisher's role of shifting and presenting knowledge is more vital than ever. We are committed to finding the most useful ways of doing that. Please use the feedback form at www.bmjbookshop.com to let us know how we're doing.