We've created an illusion that the two cultures are separate and ought to be separate. A poet or a philosopher may need to know anything. The same holds true for an engineer. Literature online avoids the traditional financial constraints and institutional control of publishers. It frees the author.
Electronic literature faces many of the same constraints.
The work of publishers and booksellers is, in the end, the task of matching writers and readers. The world is filled with fine writing, and the world is filled with readers whose needs and desires are complex and ever-changing. Yes, it's better to avoid cutting down trees, chopping them up, and shipping chopped trees all over the world. But don't imagine that getting rid of wood pulp eliminates the need for the publishers and booksellers, or makes their task simple or cheap. That's what people in the book trade do, and that's what we try to do at Eastgate.