Acquisitions

E-books: an update

Carolyne Cohn, September 2005

What is an e-book?

• E-books include titles
  
  • available online
  • read as e-mail
  • retrieved by a portable electronic reading device
  • available as a file that can be downloaded on to a computer

Issues in e-book purchasing

• User expectations - eg can they be linked to Blackboard, Web Ct and similar services?
  
  
• How current is the information?
  
  
• Long term access and archiving?
  
  
• Searchability? Ease of use? Functionality? Usage statistics?
  
  
• Is downloading available?
  
  
• MAC and IBM access

Issues for acquisitions staff

• Usage model
  
  
• License agreements
  
  
• Frequency of new editions
  
  
• New title alerts
  
  
• Different order workflows and invoicing
  
  
• Funding

What does the user want?

Note:
What else does the user want? This is an area that needs more research because mostly what we know so far is that the user wants ebooks. What else?
Aggregation.
High on everyone's list is the ability to reach multiple publisher servers through a single, common interface, organised by all the standard search keys, i.e. author, title, subject, publisher, format, isbn, etc. The netLibrary research found that 90 per cent of ebook users want the ability to search across the contents of a single book, and 80 per cent want searching across the content of collections of e-books.
Powerful searching with subject access.
Publisher collections are really not of much interest. As Cliff Lynch has pointed out, nobody ever goes to the library to visit the Elsevier room or the Taylor & Francis collection. Right now most of the aggregating of e-books is technologically based, organised by the digitizer, rather than editorially by subject. There is no single source for metadata on e-books, and no way to search across the entire ebook universe by topic.
Disaggregation and pay-per-view.
In time, powerful search engines will make it possible to search across a variety of databases and servers. Users want the ability to piece together their own 'books' comprised of chapters, sections, paragraphs or even sentences from a variety of sources. And they don't want to buy the entire book to get to the part they will use.
Portability.
Users want e-book models that exploit the value of the web, but are not tied to the desktop. Creating an online reader with the portability and elegance of the print book is a technological challenge, but it will happen. The same netLibrary research mentioned above among current ebook users suggests that 60 per cent prefer to print and read e-books offline. This will change as the technology improves.

How are e-books being used?

• Within course readings
  
  
• Electronic reserve
  
  
• Library catalogues
  
  
• Subject based reading lists
  
  
• Instead of one or more print copies

Issues for implementation

• Authentication methodology
  
  
• Promotion within the organisation
  
  
• Availability of technology for easy access
  
  
• Impact on printing resources

Issues

• Incompatibility among vendors
  
  
• Content
  
  
• Standards
  
  
• Digital rights management
  
  
• Quality of reading experience
  
  
• Currency
  
  
• Accessibility for those with a disability

Future developments

• Personalisation features eg notes
  
  
• Interaction of search engines
  
  
• Interactive diagrams
  
  
• Hyperlinks across citations

Future forecast

• British Library report forecasts that by 2020
  
  • 40 per cent of UK research monographs in e-format only
  • 50 per cent of UK monographs in print and e-format
  • 10 per cent in paper only

E-book Library

EBL Choice

• http://www.eblib.com

Note:
EBL Choice
Libraries can sign up for free access to the EBL catalogue to see e-book selection at http://www.eblchoice.com.

Patrons portal

Short-term loan request

Short-term loan

• Libraries can choose to make books that they do not own visible to patrons within EBL (either all ebooks or a selection of titles)
• Library can set permissions for non-owned e-books -options include:
  
  • Mediated short-term loan (pay-per-use)
  • Non-mediated short-term loan (pay-per-use)
  • Patron request purchase by library
  • Patron pay for short-term loan or e-book directly
• This screen demonstrates how a mediated short-term loan works. Student fills in form which is logged within LibCentral. If the ebook were a non-mediated short-term loan, the ebook would appear as if the library owned it and the patron would automatically be able to access the full-text beyond the browse period.

Short-term loan (rental) approval

Short-term loan approval

• Mediated short-term loan and purchase requests are logged within EBL LibCentral.
• Libraries can set system to send an e-mail alert to designated librarian when a new request is lodged.
• An e-mail will automatically be generated and sent to student with approval information and access URL link (if approved).

Patron download

Downloading e-books

• E-books owned by library can be downloaded by patrons to be read offline or transferred to a PDA
• Downloading e-books requires Adobe Reader v6.0.2 or higher
• Downloading is best suited for remote patrons

Browse expiry message

Online reader - copy / printing permissions

• Printing is restricted to 20 per cent / copying restricted to five per cent per patron per e-book
• Messages alerts patron when copy/print permissions are used up

Non-linear lending explained

Copy permissions message

Online reader - browse period alert

• Up to ten minutes free browsing for all e-books (no loan days are subtracted for browsing)
• Message alerts patron when browse period is up and asks if patron wishes to continue browsing
• If patron decides to read beyond browse period, one loan day is subtracted from the 325 annual circulation permission

Librarians portal

Reserve chapters access summary

Reserve access

• A separate access URL is created for reserve chapters and e-books. This access URL can be added to reserve record in library catalogue.

Create e-pack

Example of creating e-pack

• First search catalgue for desired titles
• Select and save desired titles

Future developments

• EBL are currently working on
  
  • Note taking tools
  • Extending search parameters to include LCC, Dewey and date of publication ranges
  • Open URL
  • Z39.50 implementation

In the next twelve months

• New title alerts
  
  
• Profiling
  
  
• Citation exportation
  
  
• Bookstore