Dr. Jerry Pournelle has penned a column on electronic publishing found in this week's edition of Byte magazine (subscription required). In the column, it is noted that the Kern County Library pays $20,000 to access databases of articles.  If you look at Universities, the bill is in the millions.  Clearly, something needs to be done (and we all watch the Public Library of Science project with interest!),

The column also discusses the quickly changing marketplace for publishing, and how electronic publishing may allow the authors a means to side-step the publishers. 

I sincerely hope he is right.  Of course, we have been watching the artists in the music industry who proclaim the same advantages from the Internet, yet the RIAA seems to be winning the argument that the net and its tools are bad for artists, not good.

As an interesting coincidence, the WSJ has a clip  (Selling Used Textbooks - B1, July 13, 2004) today on on-line services that will buy back used   textbooks from students (still looking at a maximum 35% return folks).  But yesterday, in the NYT, an article (Online Battle of Low-cost Books) discussed how on-line sales of used books was destroying an important secondary market for publishers. 

And, Congress is engaging in activities that may make electronic texts (and possibly even used paper texts) nigh impossible to obtain (See story on Hatch's INDUCE Act - S. 2560.  If you wish to read Hatch's explanation for this proposal, see my friend Frank Field's blog -Furdlog). 

On many fronts, the publishers are winning the battle to control distribution of "their" content (See budget authorization to empower DOJ to prosecute copyright violations and suggested legislation to require v-chip type controls on your personal PC.)

However, the consumers are getting passionate about books, and online/electronic capabilities, for different reasons.  The cost of textbooks has become a 'kitchen table' issue and is therefore on the minds of the voters as they choose representatives this year.  And, the disabled community has invested considerable energy to require access to electronic format of texts to level the "playing field" of those who need alternative methods of access to learning materials. 

The collision of these two fronts will create a rather violent storm in both the marketplace as well as the government.

Oh, and in the "You can't win department."  The University System of Georgia was forwarded an e-mail from the Governor's office regarding a constituent's frustation in receiving only a few dollars back from the more than $200 he spent on texts for a 20 day semester.  The campus privatized the bookstore years ago, yet instead of praise for the efficiencies of privatization of such commerce, the campus gets slammed for that private enterprises policies.