e-books in academia: surveying the current landscape
DESCRIPTION
Part of the June 5th day long workshop at MCLS on "ebooks and Libraries"TRANSCRIPT
e-Books in academia:Surveying the current landscape
Frank CervonePrincipal, Cervone and Associates, LLC
Midwest Collaborative for Library ServiceseBooks & Libraries Series - The Digital Library: Now and Future
June 5, 2013
Some people perceive e-Books in academic libraries as the work of a malevolent force
Image courtesy of morethings.com
Larson, R. R. (1991). The decline of subject searching: Long-term trends and patterns of index use in an online catalog. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42, pp. 197–215. Online at doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199104)42:3<197::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-T
Image courtesy of Chance Agrella
Traditional library usage may be inferred by the amount of searching in catalogs
De Groote, S.L., Hitchcock, K., and McGowan, R. (2007). Trends in reference usage statistics in an academic health science library . Journal of the Medical Library Association, 95(1), pp. 23–30. Online at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1773032/
What is required of libraries is more complex today
It is obvious that libraries need to reinvent themselves if they are to survive
Castillo, M. (2010). Are Libraries an Endangered Species? American Journal of Neuroradiology, 31, pp. 1161-1162. Online at www.ajnr.org/content/31/7/1161.long
Ninety-four percent of academic libraries offer e-Books
33% of school libraries 72% of public libraries
Dilworth, D. (2011). Ninety-four percent of academic libraries offer e-books. Appnewser, February 10, 2011. Online at www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/ninety-four-percent-of-academic-libraries-offer-ebooks_b5878
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books- Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file]. Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at www.data-planet.com.
E-Book growth 2002 to 2010
Map of e-Book holdings in academic libraries by state
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books- Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6DC808458
Number of e-Books in academic institutions by state
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books- Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6D3A1EA55
Top 20 adopting institutions
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books- Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6D9C3AA57
Only 12 percent of academic libraries circulate preloadede-reading devices
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog, February 9, 2011. Online at http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-here/
Image courtesy of pandodaily
This shouldn’t be too surprising…
• Dedicated e-reader has not reached a point where the technology is worth investing in
• Technology does not match delivery
• Focus on standard computers, PDAs, and other mobile devices
Kiriakova, M., Okamoto, K. S., Zubarev, M., and Gross, G. (2010). Aiming at a Moving Target: Pilot Testing Ebook Readers in an Urban Academic Library. Computers in Libraries, 30(2), 20-24.
Worrying about dedicated e-Readers probably doesn’t matter anyway
Coursey, D. (2012). How Dead Is Amazon's Kindle? Could Be Very Dead. Forbes, April 30, 2012. Online at http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcoursey/2012/04/30/how-dead-is-amazons-mobile-could-be-very-dead/
Kaufman, L. (2013). Barnes & Noble Weighs Its E-Reader Investment, New York Times, February 24, 2013. Online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/barnes-noble-weighs-its-nook-losses.html?_r=0
Image coutresy of wallpaperswide.com
Stereotypes of academic e-Book collections
Computer scienceBusinessReference
Snowhill, L. (2001). E-books and Their Future in Academic Libraries. D-Lib Magazine 7(7/8). Online at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july01/snowhill/07snowhill.html
Disciplines where libraries are most likely to offer e-Books
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog, February 9, 2011. Online at http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-here/
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It is difficult to compare the usage of e-Book volumes with printed titles
Cox, J. (2004) E-Books: Challenges and Opportunities. D-Lib Magazine, 10(10). Online at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/cox/10cox.html
Courtesy cheekymonokeymedia.com
e-Books are used almost exclusively to scan for information
D’Agostino, D. (2010). The strange case of academic libraries and e-books nobody reads. Teleread, January 7, 2010. Online at http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/the-strange-case-of-academic-libraries-and-e-books-nobody-reads/
Arctic Ground Squirrel image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Alan Vernon
Evidence strongly suggests that e-Books are used primarily used for quick fact extraction
“Academic” e-Books, that is
JISC CIBER Team. (2009). JISC national e-books observatory project: Key findings and recommendations. http://issuu.com/carenmilloy/docs/jisc_national_e-books_observatory_final_report
Academic e-Books are not preferred for long form reading (today)
The nature of some courses forces students into using e-Books as they are unable to easily visit the physical library
e-Books are not yet regarded as the main point of information, but are instead seen as an accompaniment to existing resources and are often only used when print copies are unavailable
Brown, L. (2010). Ebooks and the academic library: their usage and effect. Dissertation at Aberystwyth University, http://hdl.handle.net/2160/5954
Image courtesy of The Edmontonian, Brittney Le Blanc
What don’t academic librarians like about e-Books?• Variation in and
complexity of business models for purchasing
• Licensing variety and digital rights management (DRM) restrictions
• Perceived high prices
Vasileiou, M., Hartley, R., and Rowley, J. (2012). Choosing e-books: a perspective from academic libraries, Online Information Review, 36(1), pp.21 - 39
Pricing and business models can be confusing (and odd)
From an anonymous vendor’s sales presentation
Model Access Level Access Period
Purchase 1U, 3U, UU Ongoing
Subscription UU 1 year
Short-term lease 1U 1/7/14/28 days
Large portions of e-Book collections are not used
But then, up to 90% of the traditional reference collection may not be used either
Chrzastwoski, T. E. (2013). Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users. Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, 2011, pp. 53-61. Online at http://www.libqual.org/documents/LibQual/publications/2013/9th_Northumbria_Conference_Proceedings.pdf
Bradford, J. T. What's Coming Off the Shelves? A Reference Use Study Analyzing Print Reference Sources Used in a University Library, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(6), pp. 546-558. Online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133305001163
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However, cost per use can be quite low
In the UIUC study, varied between $0.68 and $1.48
Chrzastwoski, T. E. (2013). Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users. Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, 2011, pp. 53-61. Online at http://www.libqual.org/documents/LibQual/publications/2013/9th_Northumbria_Conference_Proceedings.pdf
Revocable Rights
For example, this Simon & Schuster license:
Simon and Schuster grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, revocable, non-assignable, and non-transferable license to view, use, and/or play a single copy of the Materials and download one copy of the Materials on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial, home use only
www.simonandschuster.com/about/terms_of_use
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml
Revisions, whether you like it or not
From the Random House license with library resellers:
RH reserves the right, at any time … to replace, edit or modify the contents of any RH eBook.
www.randomhouse.biz/booksellers/pdfs/eBooksLibraryTOS1210.pdf
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml
Confidentiality
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml
Archiving
Image courtesy of maverick2003 on flickr
Yet, we continue to go down the journal pathway
Perpetual licenses - 74% Subscription licenses - 71%
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog. Online at http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-here/
But if libraries don’t care, why should the publishers?
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog. Online at http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-here/
Courtesy orgmonkey at stripgenerator. Online at http://s3.amazonaws.com/stripgenerator/strip/90/68/14/00/00/full.png
A major trend is the adoption of the platform and not the purchasing decisions of colleges and universities
Dewan, P. (2012). Are books becoming extinct in academic libraries? New Library World, 113(1/2), pp. 27-37.
With the ubiquity of mobile devices, e-Books are expected to replace print volumes
Dewan, P. (2012). Are books becoming extinct in academic libraries? New Library World, 113(1/2), pp. 27-37.
Image from Steve Rhodes used under a Creative Commons license.
Acceptance of e-Books has reached a level where they have become an important library service
Shelbourne, W. A. (2009). E-book usage in an academic library: User attitudes and behaviors. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services, 33(2–3), pp. 59–72.
There is a need for libraries to raise awareness about the e-Books they offer and how they offer them
Ashcroft, L. (2011). Ebooks in libraries: an overview of the current situation. Library Management, 32(6-7), pp. 398-407.
