Henny-Penny became a metaphor at BookExpo America 2001 for the publishing industry's foolhardy fear of e-books. That's how Ebrary CEO Christopher Warnock, of all people, interpreted the tale at "The Role of Library Services in a Digital Library World," one of the few continuing-education sessions geared to librarians during the May 31-June 3 trade show in Chicago. To Warnock, Henny-Penny is a cipher for the alarmist media who take their publisher friends on an unnecessary quest to warn the king that the industry sky is falling, only to be lured into the lair of Foxy-Loxy the e-book. Association of American Publishers President Patricia Schroeder, who joined Warnock on the panel, agreed. "There've been more conferences on e-books than there've been e-books published," she joked, getting an appreciative laugh from the roomful of librarians. "We're more sophisticated," Schroeder told American Libraries. "People understand it's about content" and that the latest delivery gizmo is just that--a gizmo for accessing an author's almighty words. This year's programs, in fact, put all things electronic in their place. Offerings included "Making the Online Rights Marketplace Work for You," "The True E-Revolution: Finding Readers on the Web," and "Bricks and Clicks: How Do Retailers Best Use These New Tools to Sell More Books?" INVASION OF THE BOOK PEOPLE Certainly, the print publishing industry was still by far the biggest presence on the crowded exhibit floor, and BookExpo's 21,896 registrants flocked there, as always, to preview the fall crop of old-fashioned, low-tech print books and negotiate new deals. Like their for-profit counterparts, the 665 librarians in attendance (216 more than last year) came as much to network as to glimpse forthcoming lists, place orders, and stand in long lines for author autographs. Librarians Keely Morrison of Baltimore County (Md.) Public Library, Bruce A. Adams of the King County (Wash.
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