Uke a tired marriage.the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull.E—books，however，are causing heartache.

　　Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant，but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to c0.operate.Among the big six.only Random 　　House and HarperCollins license e-books with most libraries.The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.

　　Publishers are wise to be nervous.Owners of e.readers are exactly the customers they need：book—lovers with money-neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap.If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them，what then?

　　Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient.Unlike printed books.which must be checked out and

　　returned to a physical library miles from where you live，book files can be downloaded at home.Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night.from a comfortable sofa.The files disappear from the device when they are due.

　　Awkwardly for publishers，buying an e—book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value.

　　You cannot resell it。lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm.Owning a book is useful if you want to savor(品尝)it repeatedly，but who reads“Fifty Shades of Grey”twice?

　　E-1ending is not simple.however.There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats，devices and licences.Most libraries use a company called Over Drive，a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format.Yet publishers and libraries are worried by Over Drive’s market dominance，as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.

　　Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers，and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work.Many were.cheered by a recent Pew survey，which found that more than half of Americans with Horary cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries，and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists，which may be what inspires people to buy.

　　So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in：search of the right balance.Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year，and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

　　Hachita is engaged in some secret experiments，and the others are watching with held breath.In Britain the government will soon announce a review of the matter.The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.