Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that facilitate publishing, distributing, and reading of electronic content. In some embodiments, the systems and methods may include a document conversion module for converting documents uploaded by publishers into an e-reader friendly format (an e-document). The systems and methods may also include a virtual library for making the e-documents available to end users and an active reader module to allow an end user to download and read the e-documents on an end user device. In some embodiments, the systems and methods may include a user management module for digital rights management and control of end user access to the e-documents. In some embodiments, the active reader may include functionality that allows an end user to annotate the e-document and share comments among users.