Like traditional books, electronic books are published to achieve a variety of goals. Although there is considerable overlap, most electronic books can be matched with at least one of four general purposes. Some, like the many electronic encyclopedias published as CD-ROMs, are primarily for reference. In these books there is usually a relatively small amount of information on a large number of topics.

Others have a strong instructional flavor. In these books, information is presented and supported in ways that meet the specific needs of students. For example, an electronic book presenting the works of a major literary figure might highlight key literary devices or provide interpretations of difficult passages. Electronic books designed to meet the instructional needs of students with a range of reading abilities will often provide a digitized reading of the entire text as a way of increasing reading fluency.

Electronic books that provide the reader with a large-scale network of interrelated documents, graphics, and sound are usually meant for in-depth studying. They support the study process by providing links across documents and text enhancements within documents.

Finally, some electronic books are primarily for entertainment or pleasure reading. This is true for the new genre of hypertext fiction such as Afternoon (Eastgate Systems) and the highly interactive Animated Storybooks produced by the Disney Company.

When evaluating and selecting electronic books for use in the classroom, it is extremely important that teachers understand what the electronic book was designed to do and determine whether this matches their instructional goals. More on this later.

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