I would definitely consider investing more money in electronic resources provided they met quality standards. Since many people are looking for their reference - particularly ready reference - in other areas of the Internet anyway, it makes the most sense to have the materials in a format most accessible to the patron (user).
I admit I have been highly resistant to the idea of e-books and the like for quite some time. I don't remember if I have mentioned before that I have written two animation textbooks. One is a paperback and one is ebook only. While I like the idea that an ebook disseminates easier for more people to borrow from a library or carry around with them, there's also the reality that I don't make as much per copy compared to my paperback title, not that textbooks make tons of money anyway unless you are a true and tried standard. I can't get more specific due to contractual limitations but I suspect if you do the math you can figure it out.
While not reference work, I think it is also applicable to mention that I've recently worked in the fiction department with self-publishing, mainly a little experiment for myself. I put out one of my fiction stories on Lulu in an 144 page book that can be gotten in print or as an ebook. I went through three print proofs on it, but the funny thing is what messed me up the first time is that reading my proof in a pdf I forgot the traditional rules of printed book layout! Amazing how time changes things. I haven't sold any yet and it isn't available on Amazon yet, if they accept it may have a sway on how many I can sell.
Personally I think ebooks and electronic information are definitely here to stay, and to that that end are definitely an investment a library needs to consider. Now, how to protect that investment from data loss or electronic theft, those areas are a bit beyond my knowledge scope.
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