Infinite riches in a little room: how can we manage, market and modernise

the e-books phenomenon?

Linda Bennett

Queen Anne is dead

  

2003: librarians’ underlying perception

Publishers are out to squeeze every last penny from us. E-books will be a good

way of getting more for our money. They should be cheaper than print or free.

2003: publishers’ underlying perception

E-books will be the thin end of the wedge if we don’t set out to marginalise them. Essentially, we are about printed publications. We will either ignore e-books or tinker around the edges with them.

Perceptions: the fundamental issues

• What constitutes the core role of the publisher?

• What is a fair value to set upon the publisher’s work?

Main barriers to promoting / marketing e-books for librarians (2003)

• Pricing models, especially one book, one user• Visibility: cataloguing, metadata and cross-referencing • Embargoes on high-demand titles (textbooks)• American bias• Currency• Text quality and functionality• Aggregator solvency• Navigation of aggregator / publisher databases• Statistics: particularly of usage • Access issues• The “armchair reader” syndrome

Main barriers to marketing / promoting e-books for publishers (2003)

• DRM issues• Royalties• Pricing models / return on investment• VAT• Fears of “cannibalisation”: What material to make

available: what to do about textbooks• Cataloguing, metadata and cross-referencing: how to

address • Text quality and functionality• Aggregator solvency• Statistics: usage; publishers’ payment information • The “armchair reader” syndrome

E-books: routes to market for publishers 2005

• Sell via one or more aggregators• Sell via one or more library suppliers• Sell via one or more digital warehouses • Sell via one or more retailers• Sell via a public body such as JISC• Sell via a customised transactional website,

such as eBookstore• Develop your own proprietary platform• Special initiatives: Universal Digital Textbook,

Holtzbrinck

Cataloguing and Metadata

Access

Librarians’ best practice: criteria (2003)

• Library did not criticise academics or students for limited awareness / enthusiasm

• E-books were put on the library’s catalogue• Organised attempt at training sessions made,

preferably distinguishing between needs of different groups

• Attempt made to work with academics to identify suitable e-books to adopt

• Attempt made to analyse and adjust needs to information provided by user statistics

Moving on ….

Exploring the frontiers of e-learning - borders, outposts and migration

Bruce Ingraham, 2005

“… we tend to think of reading as an ‘arm chair’ activity …. the reality for most academics [and by extension their students] is that reading is a desk-based activity.”

Ingraham, B. et al. Academic print in digital formats. ALT-C 2005 Research Proceedings

Moving on again …

It’s about the content, stupid!

What is happening in universities now:

• Most have a pro-vice chancellor / senior figure whose role is to establish a teaching and learning strategy

• He or she is often supported by a teaching and learning committee

• Result: often, organised advocacy of “blended learning”• Result: often, use of VLEs as an integrated part of the

curriculum• Result: sometimes, appointment of learning

technologists to help academics to develop content for VLEs

What is happening in university libraries now

• Some already have an “e-preferred” resources policy

• The role of the librarian is changing:– librarians are adopting a more interactive role: no

longer just the keepers of resources, but promoters of them

– they are actively engaged in demonstrating online resources to undergraduates in lectures [“interstitial teaching”]

– They are actively engaged in helping postgraduates and academics to carry out research using online resources

Help with content needed by academics and librarians now

• Understanding the available formats and which ones are best for which purposes

• Managing quality of content and design• Understanding the best text fonts and layout to use for

effective readability and accessibility• Finding an effective management system in which to

store content• Finding an effective national and international rights

management system• Finding effective cataloguing and access systems• Setting up a sufficiently powerful metadata mechanism

Question

Isn’t this what publishers are supposed to do?

Perceptions: the fundamental issues

• What constitutes the core role of the publisher?

• What is a fair value to set upon the publisher’s work?

Publishers and Librarians, Librarians and Publishers

• Same goals?

• Respect! Getting the economics right

• Keeping up with academic developments

• Experiments. Working together to try, test and modify formats and products

• Marketing and Promotion. Sophisticated integral attributes needed, not add-ons. Working together essential

Librarians and Publishers, Publishers and Librarians

It always was about content.

Even for Caxton.

Infinite riches in a little room: how can we manage, market and modernise

the e-books phenomenon?

Linda Bennett