I had been hoping for a resolution before writing about the dispute between Amazon.com and the publisher Hachette Book Group, but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. For the past few months, the publisher and the online retailer have been engaged in a corporate battle over the distribution of eBooks. The conflict started back in May with Hachette titles losing their pre-order option on Amazon, there were weeks-long shipping delays on Hachette printed books, and some titles disappeared from Amazon altogether. The details are sketchy due to a gag order signed by both parties, but the dispute raises important questions about the roles of authors, publishers, and online vendors when it comes to eBooks.

The rapid adoption of eBooks has caused quite a conundrum for those in the book world. How much should an eBook cost? How much of the cost should be split between the author, publisher, and online retailer? Since the technology needed to produce them is different from the physical materials for a print book, what are we paying for when we pay for one? Once downloaded, who owns the book and how many times can they download it? Having paid for and read an ebook, can I lend it to a friend? Where do libraries fit in this equation? Though eBooks have existed in their current form since the late 1990s, these details are still being worked out.

While publishers struggle to find a balance between the content creators and content distributors, public libraries have created innovative solutions for lending eBooks to their members.  Some academic and special libraries have begun lending devices with eBooks loaded on them as well. Open collaborative projects like Open Library are also creating solutions to this new technological challenge with help from individuals and Libraries throughout the world.

Watch out world, eBooks are here to stay!