Shalini Urs

A workshop examining the potential of e-books was recently held in Bangalore, India, to identify the issues and complexities involved in e-book projects, and determine the role of e-books in education, research and libraries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hosted the invitation-only workshop, which brought together publishers, distributors and users from Asia and Europe. Over 70 participants examined how the projected $400 billion industry will affect authors, publishers, distributors and consumers, and the challenges e-books face—short-lived technologies, and incompatible and non-interoperable formats and standards. "The e-book industry and marketplace is a nebulous one with each of [its] players