Book publishing and print disabilities: the extent of book famine in Lithuania
ENThere is a community of people in Lithuania who experience difficulties in reading printed books. When ebooks are scarce they are left without proper access to an important information source. Comparing the Lithuanian results with data from other contexts, we find that the availability of ebooks in Lithuania is scarcer than in other developed countries: they are from two to three times less available. Computer use and access to internet use in Lithuania over the past decade has increased by 20 per cent; however, access to ebooks grew at a slower pace. Analysis of the most popular books indicates that relatively few of them are available in ebook format, which suggests deliberate choices to promote printed books by restraining the release of ebook versions. From 2010 to 2019, on average, only 14 per cent of printed titles published were available in one of the ebook formats. Keywords: accessibility of books; publishing; Lithuania; digital divide; print disabled; ebooks. [From the publication]
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