No worries, and quit apologizing. These boards exist for the purpose of discussing games, and that is what you are doing. Just post your thread in the Min/Max forums, and brilliant minds will usually swoop to your assistance. It is that easy, really.
Most of us use .pdf books, and to my knowledge, they are all legit. I, for instance, do own around 80% of all d&d books ever published, but I have scanned them for ease of use and transport. Also, some BGs have never felt the need for paper books in the first place, and have purchased their .pdfs legally as eBooks. There is no stigma here against .pdf books, just inform us what books you have access to in your game so we don't waste our time recommending you things that you can't use anyway.