电子图书对公共图书馆和出版商来说意味着形势大逆转。旧金山最大的公共图书馆的墙壁上贴满以前记载着图书馆书目条录的5万张索引卡片。这些索引卡所指引的众多巨著可能也越来越成为一种装饰。如今图书馆的顾客不仅可以在网上搜索图书,而且还可以不必去图书馆就能查看电子图书。对图书管理员来说,“电子借阅”是数字时代自然而然提供的服务。出版商和书商却担心,这会打破他们的经营模式。关于图书馆对图书业影响的担忧并不新鲜。但数字设备使图书更为轻易快捷地走向 E-books mean a big reversal for public libraries and publishers. The walls of San Francisco’s largest public library are plastered with 50,000 index cards previously recorded in the library’s bibliographic records. Many of the books that these index cards guide may also become more and more a decoration. Today’s library customers not only search for books online, but they also have the ability to view e-books without going to the library. For librarians, “e-lending” is a natural service in the digital age. Publishers and booksellers are worried that this will break their business model. Concerns about the library’s impact on the book industry are not new. But digital devices make books easier and faster