"At a time of crisis for other print media, books are holding their own," says Associate Professor Mark Davis, a member of the University of Melbourne Book Industry Study research team, based in the University of Melbourne’s Publishing and Communications Program.

The researchers estimate that the average Australian is buying almost 10 books a year, and that annual book sales are worth about $1.7 billion.

"What’s more, the book industry has been growing at a rate that would make most media moguls weep," the researchers say.

"According to the University of Melbourne Book Industry Study, annual sales growth since 2004 has averaged 6.5 per cent, and industry salaries - long a sticking point - have also risen faster than average."

"It isn’t surprising," says Jenny Lee, principal researcher on the project. "The book industry spent a long time taking over niches that were too small for the mass media to be bothered about."

"As a result, it was better placed than most in the recent crisis, because its cover prices weren’t dependent on advertising, and also because the book as an object has proved difficult to replace."

The researchers agree, however, that this is likely to change. "This will be the year of the ebook," Associate Professor Davis predicts, "and the research team has already begun redesigning their industry survey to detect changes as they happen."

The book industry study runs for three years, with funding from the ARC Linkage program supported by industry partners Thorpe-Bowker and the Australian Publishers Association.

The report is available from Thorpe-Bowker in print or ebook format: email sales@thorpe.com.au for details.