Transcript eBooks: Selection and Acquisitions

Ever Evolving E-books
SANLiC Workshop 2013
In pursuit of library happiness: learning to write
eBook policies that meet everybody’s needs
Dr Gillian Hallam
What does all this mean to your university library?
In pursuit of happiness…
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All people have basic needs which must be satisfied if
they are going to be happy
Simply put:
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If you meet these needs, you are happy
If you don’t, you are unhappy
However – complications arise when the ways in which
you seek to meet YOUR needs are not aligned with the
needs of OTHERS
E.Perry Good (1987). In pursuit of happiness: Knowing what you want and getting
what you need. Chapel Hill, NC: New View Publications
Today’s workshop
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Learning to…
… write eBook policies that meet everybody’s needs
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Exploring the eBook environment
Do libraries (still) need policies?
If so, why?
Who is actually involved in the policy agenda?
What are their specific needs?
How can we meet their needs – and our own?
What makes a ‘good policy’?
What are the key steps in policy writing?
Examining some eResources policies
Planning to write your own policies
What is a ‘policy’ ?
A policy
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Establishes the framework for what will or will not
be done in an organization
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Is a philosophy, standard, or criterion that helps
employees exercise good judgment and discretion
in the management of the organisation’s daily affairs
Policies and procedures
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Sometimes ‘policies-and-procedures’ are blended together so
that it sounds almost like one word.
Important differences between these kinds of documents
Policy comes first, procedure follows
Policy deals with the ‘what’ of the library’s work
Procedure deals with the ‘how’
Policy creates the rules
Procedure tells how the organization will implement the rules
Policies should be stable and relatively long-term
Procedures may change quickly to reflect a changing work
environment
Policies represent a consistent, logical framework for action
Procedures evolve to reflect changes in managerial philosophy,
personnel, equipment, or technology
Why do libraries have policies?
What issues are covered in your library policies?
Typical areas for policy development
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Library membership
Client confidentiality
Circulation and lending
Internet use
Events
Staffing
Volunteers
Collection development and management
eBooks
Policies associated with collection
development and management,
particularly in the context of eBooks
Remember…
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A policy establishes the framework for what will
or will not be done
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Helps employees exercise good judgment and
discretion in their work
Then and now…
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Traditional library practice
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Clear activities and processes
Selection and acquisitions involved relationships between
librarians and sales representatives
The digital landscape requires new knowledge and skills
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Licences and business terms:
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Creative problem-solving
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Detailed knowledge & negotiation skills
To provide seamless access within the library systems
Working with others
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Involvement of many different internal and external stakeholders
The new focus for library resources
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Digital and other media have their own sets of rules
Do not often fit into neat categories like traditional resources
New formats → new challenges
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The learning environment is changing
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Acquisition
Pricing
Licensing
Archiving
More multi-disciplinary focus
Internationalised curriculum
New approaches to scholarship and research
How do library policies deal with these issues?
It’s all about access, not ownership
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Publication trends
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Began with e-journals
Increasing maturity of the eBook market
User preferences are changing
Access to information becomes a service decision,
rather than a collections decision
“Access to digital content has transformed our approach
to collection development and management, and it will
continue to do so; more importantly it has transformed
our users’ approach to information seeking and use”
(Kaufman, 2009)
Selection
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Selection of information resources is the core function in
collection development
Ultimate goal: to meet user needs
Traditional selection activities:
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Selection criteria
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Quality, relevance, use, cost…
User requests
eResources: different selection issues
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Technological issues
Legal issues
Usability
Accessibility
Continuous content evaluation
New approaches to selection
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Discovery of eResources
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Ever more challenging due to exponential increase in the availability
of resources
Spectrum of variety of the eResources themselves
Many multi-disciplinary eResources
Strategies for selection
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Trial offers
Demonstrations from vendors
Peer library websites
Consortia partners
Discussion lists
Faculty/user recommendations
The importance of critical evaluation
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Coverage
Authority
Reliability
Ease of access to the content
Functionality of the interface
Search capabilities
Licensing provisions
Cost
Method of pricing
Technical support
Actual usage
NB the need to interpret the ‘marketing hype’
It’s all dynamic, so continuous review and evaluation
Issues to consider
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Content
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Coverage in full text
Availability of retrospective material/perpetual access
Archiving and preservation
Accuracy of content (authority)
Completeness of content
Quality of the media
Overlap/duplication with other resources
Currency
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Frequency of updates
Content embargos
Archiving policies
Issues to consider, cont.
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Reputation
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Indexing
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Accuracy and relevancy of retrieval
Impact factor
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Business practices or vendor
Responsiveness to problems
Peer views of reliability
Journal citation reports
Ease of access, functionality
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Device agnostic
Stability
Customisation
Search options
Downloading and printing options
Duplication of content provision
Accessibility
Issues to consider, cont.
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Licence agreements
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Cost
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Definition of ‘authorised users’
Range of restrictions
Use for distance education
Off campus access
Availability of usage data
Monographic or serial in nature?
Number of users/sites/IP addresses/remote access
Cost of in-house activities
Technical support
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MARC records
Integration with other systems
Systems migration plans
Accessibility issues
Online help
Dedicated support
Training
Licence agreements
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Content included/excluded
Library sites included
Authorised users
Copyright and fair use provisions
Confidentiality
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About the agreed contract price
Data about users
Period of contract
Cost
Terms of payment & termination
Governing law: geographical location
Perpetual access
Liabilities of libraries: monitoring authorised access by users
Availability of usage statistics
Continuous review and evaluation
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Overlap analysis: uniqueness of content
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Serials Solutions 360 core overlap analysis tool
EBSCO A-to-Z list
Reliability of access
Cost-effectiveness
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Usage data
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No of sessions
No of queries
No of items retrieved
No of downloads
No of times users denied access
Consistency of data from vendors: COUNTER compliant statistics
www.projectcounter.org
Based on the SUSHI protocol (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative)
www.niso.org/workrooms/sushi
The library budget
User experience:
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Surveys, focus groups
eBooks offerings for academic libraries
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EBL
Ebrary
Books 24/7
eBooks on EBSCOhost
OverDrive
Academic publishing houses
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QUT eBooks
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http://libguides.library.qut.edu.au/content.php?pid=201047&sid=17
85322
CAUL consortial arrangements
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http://www.caul.edu.au/caul-programs/ceirc/offers
Patron-driven acquisition (PDA)
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Demand-driven acquisition (DDA)
The library places a large number of bibliographic records in its
catalogue which point to eBooks from a particular vendor
The library purchases a licence after it has been accessed an
agreed-upon number of times
This ensures that eContent is actually used
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cf studies of approval plans: 30-40% titles do not circulate
Just-in-time model, rather than just-in-case model
Immediate access for the user, cf need to order a title
Invisible process for the user
Concerns whether this upsets the ‘balance’ of the collection?
Or will it open up the collection and ensure its relevancy to
current user requirements?
Management of PDA
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Money to be set aside to cover anticipated costs
PDA activity needs to be monitored :
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MARC records for the agreed range of eBooks are loaded into the library catalogue
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Anomalies with copyright dates?
Library receives a monthly file of new records
Users can access and browse a title for 10 mins before taking action
Different short loan options, eg EBL rental plan:
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To track usage
To predict usage trends
One day (10-15% of list price)
One week (15-20%)
Two weeks (20-25%)
3 short loans allowed, then the eBook is then automatically purchased
on the 4th loan
Restrictions can be imposed:
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Close off after a predetermined amount is spent
Price limits on titles
Limitations by publisher, publication date, subject etc
Making eBook collections visible to users
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It is a challenge to make virtual library collections ‘visible’
Yet conversely, the visibility of eBooks in the wider world has increased
significantly in recent years
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Federated search
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MetaLib (ExLibris)
360 Search (Serials Solutions)
Discovery tools (pre-harvested metadata)
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Amazon, Google Book Search, Apple iBooks
Trove, OCLC WorldCat
Summon (Serials Solutions)
EBSCO Discovery Service
Primo Central (ExLibris)
Need for rich, accurate metadata to allow resources to be found via
multiple discovery points
Bibliographic records:
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Vendor arrangements to supply, update and delete records
Specific MARC fields in externally created records
Managing links
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Need to manage links to and from different sites
Embedding links within the MARC record
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Using Digital Object Identifiers (DOI)
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Changes to URLS?
Location of the DOI: does the library have access?
Using link resolvers
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360 Link (Serial Solutions)
SFX (ExLibris)
Metadata in catalogue record is matched to URL in a central database
Links can be created from multiple discovery points
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VLEs, reading lists, A-Z listings of eBooks, search engines…
Needs alignment between the link resolver service and the items in the
library’s collection
Costs: subscription to service, staff time and expertise to configure
A mixed approach may be the best option – based on user needs
Deselection
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Very little has been written about deselecting – or weeding –
eBooks
If the collection is to be relevant to user needs, older materials
can be redundant
Libraries need to develop policies about deselection as part of
their evaluation processes
Consider the usage data, bearing in mind:
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Visibility
Seamless access
User awareness
User acceptance
Review the currency and relevancy of the resources
No shelf space per se, but records can clutter up search results
So… that’s all very interesting… but -
How can you distil all of this into a
meaningful policy for your library?
Does your library have a collection development policy?
The collection development policy (CDP)
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Three main purposes of the CDP
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To inform
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To direct
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Guidelines to maintain balance in the collection for users
To protect
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Communication vehicle with library staff, administrators and users
Valuable tool for new staff
Justification of the selection to users (and administrators)
Provides a framework for decision making
Serves as a planning tool to support consistent,
informed decisions
Collection development definitions
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Selection
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The identification of information resources appropriate to a
particular field, and the choice of what to acquire or provide
access to from within it
(Clayton & Gorman, 2006,p. xii; Feather & Sturges, 2013, p.2000)
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Acquisitions
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The employment of a range of methods to provide access to
the information required by readers
Getting the materials needed by the library’s users in the most
desired format and in the most efficient and economical
manner
(Clayton & Gorman, 2001,p.2006; Joshipura, in Yu & Breivold, 2008, p.49)
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Encompasses sourcing, ordering, receiving, paying…
Existing CDPs are often anachronistic
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“Most existing collection development policies are strong
on their approach to traditional print materials but weak
on electronic media – if, indeed, they are covered at all”
(Clayton & Gorman, 2006, p.31)
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Important not to be locked into legacy collection requirements
Some critics believe a written CDP is not necessary, nor desirable
It is argued that the CDP can be ignored in the immediacy of a situation
As digital resources become the primary resources acquired and used in
the library, the traditional CDP becomes irrelevant
Some South African studies
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Van Zijl, C. (2005). Developing and managing information
collections for academics and researchers at a university
of technology. D.Lit.et Phil thesis, UNISA
Investigates the CDP at Auckland University of Technology
(NZ) and a South African university of technology
Buchholz, I.M. (2011). Provision of access to information
in academic libraries in Southern Africa: Two case studies.
M.InfoSci thesis, UNISA.
Nel, M. (2011). Collection development and
management. University of Pretoria. Report on a study
visit to the University of California, Davis.
What is happening with eBooks in your library?
Who is involved in the eBook agenda?
Stakeholders in eResource management
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Library staff
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Resource discovery
Acquisitions
Technical services
Finance
Liaison librarians
User experience (UX)
Marketing
Faculty
Students
ICT support
Learning support
Legal department
Consortia partners
The academic library does not exist in isolation
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Any future direction requires the strong foundation of:
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The university’s mission
The library’s strategic plan
What is the university’s policy on ICT in teaching &
research?
How well developed is the digital infrastructure?
How actively does the library engage with other areas of
the university?
What consortia arrangements are in place?
How is all of this built into the library’s policies?
eBook policies
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Who is involved in making the policies?
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Librarians?
Library managers
Academic administrators?
Academic staff ?
eBook vendors?
Policies to consider
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eBook ‘acquisitions’
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eBook circulation
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What should be added to the library resources?
eBook lending periods
Number of eBooks borrowed at one time
Permission for renewals (and if there are holds?)
eReader circulation, if applicable
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eReader loan periods
Mitigation against loss or damage
eBook ‘acquisitions’
What do we purchase in electronic format?
 What do we continue to purchase in print?
 What do we purchase in both formats?
 Problems of budgets becoming leaner
 The emphasis is pushing towards migration to the
virtual environment
BUT
 Not everything is available in electronic format
 Print versions may be superior to the electronic
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The changing library environment
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New pressures
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Reduction in the acquisitions budget
Curriculum changes and new research areas
Move to purchase books that have guaranteed high usage
Electronic resources originally treated as ‘novel’ rather than
mainstream
Technical requirements for eResources quickly obsolete
Libraries moving into new directions
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Policies have to accommodate – and respond – to constantly
changing environment
Needs to be flexible and provide guidance as circumstances
changed
What are the trends in your library?
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Libraries may be collecting fewer physical items, but they are
increasingly:
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The content of the collection is becoming more fluid,
but the library is still involved in ‘collecting’
The ‘collecting’ needs to be systematic and well managed
Funding limitations mean there is a need for:
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Identifying resources that are relevant to their clients
Increasing discoverability through linking
Limitations to what may be ‘collected’
Principles to guide the act of selection
Understanding the indirect costs of ‘collecting’
Therefore a collections policy still has a meaningful role to play
“The hybrid or the digital library does need a collection development
policy, and it needs a policy prepared with as much care and
consultation as was devoted to the creation of print policies when
creating them was a ‘fashionable’ library activity.
In fact, the further the library ventures into the rich variety and
complexity of all kinds of digital resources, with the challenges of
licensing and consortia negotiations, the greater the need for a
policy is likely to be.”
(Kennedy, 2005)
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Rapid and constant transformation of eResources and the
emergence of new problems and complexities will make it
critical to regularly review and revise the policy
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It just maybe not a ‘collection development’ policy anymore
eResources policy issues
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Delegated authority:
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What are the policies of the vendor/aggregator?
What about the bundling of eBook titles?
Automatic acquisition of newer and revised editions?
Archiving of earlier editions for historical or comparative
research activities
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Vendor/aggregator control over availability?
cf Rittenhouse: R2DigitalLibrary → archive files
Where do PDA/DDA strategies fit into deselection?
What are the features of eResource policies?
Remember…
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A policy establishes the framework for what will or
will not be done
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Helps employees exercise good judgment and discretion
in their work
Examples from Australian universities
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Deakin University
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Bond University
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Collection guidelines: Selection criteria
www.deakin.edu.au/library/about/collectionguidelines/inforesource.php
Library collection management and access plan
http://www.bond.edu.au/prod_ext/groups/public/@pub-qagen/documents/policy/bd3_005369.pdf
Charles Sturt University
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Collection development policy
http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/about/docs/CollectionDevelopment-Policy.pdf
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University of Melbourne
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Notre Dame University
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Electronic collection policy
www.library.unimelb.edu.au/collections22/collection_develop
ment_policy/electronic_collection
Collection development policy
www.nd.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/112163/collectio
n_development_policy.pdf
University of Adelaide
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Digital collections policy
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/about/policies/digitalcolle
ctions.html
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University of South Australia
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University of Queensland
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Digital resource strategy (2011)
http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/about/policies/digital_strategy.pdf
CDP
www.library.uq.edu.au/about-us/collection-development
NB e-preferred policy
eBook FAQs
www.library.uq.edu.au/about-us/ebook-faqs#epref
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
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Collection development manual
www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/colldevpolicy.jsp
Principles
www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_2.0.Princi
ples_FIN.pdf
Electronic books
www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_3.2.1.Ebo
oks_FIN.pdf
The eResources policy should:
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Articulate:
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The mission of the library – and the university
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The purpose of the policy
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To reflect the needs and objectives of the parent body
Highlight how the information resources directly support the mission
To establish priorities for collection development?
To describe the collection strengths and weaknesses?
To support funding proposals?
Planning intentions?
Accountability regarding finances?
For accreditation or evaluation?
To develop the staff’s understanding of the collection and resources?
To communicate between libraries about cooperative collections?
The audience for whom it is developed
 To whom is it addressed?
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Describe the communities served by the library
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Do the clients have any specific needs?
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Teaching staff, researchers,
Undergraduate students, higher degree students
Background to the collection
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What broad categories of materials are included?
Monographs
Serials
Electronic resources, multimedia…
Are there any special collections that need special treatment?
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Access
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Who has access?
What are the principles for electronic licences?
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Are there any restrictions to be noted?
Include expectations from providers
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Compatibility with systems, technical support, training…
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Budget
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Selection principles and practices
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How is the budget allocated?
Is there a specific formula for certain purchases?
Is there a ratio for different formats, client groups etc?
Criteria for specific types of media?
What about materials available in multiple formats?
What languages?
What about gifts and donations?
Professional association statements on censorship?
Limitations
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What will NOT be acquired?
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Guidelines for resource management
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Retention, cancellation, preservation, replacement, weeding
What measures are taken to preserve electronic data
Who is involved in de-selection?
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How are criteria applied?
How often should weeding take place?
What is done with material removed from the collection?
Cooperative purchasing / consortial arrangements
Review of the policy
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Requires constant revision to ensure that it reflects the
changing needs of the library and the clients
Who is to review the policy?
How often?
At the end
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List the associated procedures documents, with links
List the associated forms etc, with links
Provide the names and contact details for the primary
contact and any relevant additional contacts
Related information
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or LibGuides
History of the policy and its amendments
Policy writing step-by-step
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Step 1: Determine the need for a new policy
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Does the library really need the policy?
Does the library already have a policy in place that covers the
situation adequately?
Is there a policy that can be revised to take account of a new
situation?
Who have you included in your discussions about a new policy?
Is anyone in the library already working on a new policy document?
Step 2: Research best practices
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Do a literature search!
Check with your peers, eg through the SANLiC community
Network locally to see how other libraries handle the issue
Critically assess the samples you locate
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Note the differences between policies from the US (detailed)
and the UK or Australia (leaner)
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Step 3: Prepare the first draft of the policy
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You won’t be able to adopt another library’s policy directly
Each library has its own requirements
What will you call the policy?
Step 4: Review the draft with stakeholders
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Should you have a committee or an advisory group?
Seek comments and input from interested parties
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Step 5: Seek the required approvals from management
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Step 6: Distribute and disseminate the new policy
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Step 7: Conduct staff training
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It is important to ensure everyone is familiar with and understands the policy
issues
Step 8: Develop any new procedures that are required
Your turn!
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Let’s look at QUT’s documents in more detail
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Please work in small groups to review the policy documents:
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Principles
www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_2.0.Prin
ciples_FIN.pdf
Electronic books
www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_3.2.1.Eb
ooks_FIN.pdf
What do they cover?
How are they structured?
What do you think of the policy documents?
You have 20 minutes!
Questions to ask as you draft a new policy
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What is the purpose of the policy?
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Who is the audience for the policy?
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Who needs to follow the policy?
Just the library staff, or also external stakeholders?
This will also help you focus the writing process
In what situations will the new policy apply?
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If you can clearly define the purpose, it will help you focus the
writing process
What are the major conditions or restrictions?
Are there any exclusions or special situations?
Are you using language that reflects the intent of the policy?
Are you using as few words as possible to make the statement?
The 5 Cs of your writing style
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Clear
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Concise
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Avoid synonyms: refer to ideas, things, services etc in the same way every time
you write about it
Make sure that the audience does not get confused by different, but related,
terms
Complete
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Avoid ‘wordiness’: keep the language precise
Acronyms must be spelt out the first time they are used
Consistent
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You need to make sure that the content of your policy is immediately
understandable and usable
Avoid words like ‘should’ or ‘shall’: use strong, definitive action words
(‘will’, ‘must’, ‘are responsible’ etc)
Check that you have covered all the issues
Coherent
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Ensure that the policy shows a logical thought process – and that the text makes
sense
Sentences and paragraphs must be understandable
(Henson, n.d.)
Begin to have a go yourselves!
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Think about the structure of your policy first
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Then consider the content of your policy
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What do you want to include?
Make some notes for yourself as you go
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Who will need to be consulted at your university?
What to you need to do to get the policy ratified?
How will you introduce the new policy to the various
stakeholders?
Checklist for reviewing your policy
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Do you believe that your policy is short and succinct?
Does the policy accurately reflect current library practice?
Are terms in the policy adequately defined?
Is there a short summary at the beginning that tells the
reader what the policy is about?
Is it clear to whom the policy applies?
Is your use of terminology consistent in this policy – and
across other related policies the library may have?
Have you checked that this new policy is not in conflict
with another policy?
If two policies are interrelated, is it clear when and where
each policy applies?
Checklist cont.
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Are you sure that the document concentrates only on policy issues?
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Make sure that there is no procedural content – that needs to be moved
into a related procedures document
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Have you checked that the contact details, job titles, email
addresses and any weblinks are current and correct?
Does it need to be reviewed by other stakeholders?
Who needs to sign off on the policy?
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Does your writing meet the 5 Cs? Is the policy text:
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Clear
Concise
Consistent
Complete
Coherent
Supporting information
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QUT Library: Detailed guide to QUT Library eBooks
http://libguides.library.qut.edu.au/content.php?pid=201047&sid
=1785322#etext
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University of Queensland: eBook FAQs
www.library.uq.edu.au/about-us/ebook-faqs#epref
References
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ACQWEB: www.acqweb.org
BUBL Collection development http://bubl.ac.uk/link/c/collectiondevelopment.htm
Clayton, P. & Gorman, G. (2006). Managing information resources in libraries: Collection management in theory
and practice. London: Facet.
Digital Library Federation (DLF): www.diglib.org
Henson, S. (n.d.) Developing and writing library policies and procedures.
www.fdlp.gov/home/repository/doc_download/699-how-to-develop-a-write-policies-and-procedures
Kennedy, J. (2005). A collection development policy for digital information resources. Australian Library Journal,
54(3), 238-244.
Local Government Library Technology wiki: eBooks
https://lglibtech.wikispaces.com/E-Books
QUT Library: Detailed guide to QUT Library eBooks
http://libguides.library.qut.edu.au/content.php?pid=201047&sid=1785322#etext
Polanka, S. (Ed.) (2011). No shelf required: eBooks in libraries. Chicago: ALA.
Polanka, S. (Ed.) (2012). No shelf required 2: Use and management of eBooks. Chicago: ALA.
No shelf required blog: www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/
Price, K. & Havergal, V. (Eds.) (2011). E-books in libraries: A practical guide. London: Facet.
University of California Libraries (2008). Guiding principles for collecting books in electronic format.
http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/groups/files/cdc/docs/ebooks_final_report.pdf
Yu, H. & Breivold, S. (2008). Electronic resource management in libraries: Research and practice. Hershey, NY:
Information Science Reference