E-books or electronic books continue to gain in their own underground markets in spite of the fractured groups of independent and specialty authors that have yet to create a consensus on the best way to offer them. An e-book is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book which is usually read on personal computers or on e-book readers or e-book devices, both dedicated hardware devices.
Beyond computing, there are those who believe that computers provide the greatest value in the storage, retrieval and searching of what is stored in libraries. Early e-books generally dealt in specialty areas intended for small groups to share. Eventually, different e-book formats emerged and proliferated with some being supported by major software companies.