Publication of information through electronic media as opposed to paper, so that it can be accessed by computer. An early use was the publication of journals on CD-ROM and on the Internet, as well as in paper form. In book publishing, electronic distribution is particularly suitable for reference books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. On CD-ROM or, more recently, DVD, these can contain added features, such as hyperlinks, video clips, audio clips, search facilities, etc. Publishing on the Internet is also an important part of electronic publishing. There are two main commercial areas. In one a reference book or collection of reference books is available through a website, often on a subscription basis. The user can search for individual terms. This dictionary, for example, is available on the service Oxford Reference Online. The other form of electronic publishing is as e-books. These are electronic texts that are available for download onto the buyer’s computer or a dedicated e-reader such as Amazon Kindle. Formats for selling e-books vary. The e-book may simply be a facsimile of the paper edition (in PDF). Alternatively, the text may be reformatted for electronic use, often with hyperlinks and additional search facilities.

The law of copyright gives authors and/or publishers control over the use of their work, and applies both to paper and electronic media. Computers make the copying of information very easy, and if a computer is connected to a network then publications can be copied to multiple sites. Practical approaches to providing protection against copyright infringement are under constant investigation.