Transcript Mananging Serials in the Electronic World

Developing an E-book
Collection
A Toolkit for Libraries
Kate Price
E-Strategy & Resources Manager
University of Surrey
UKSG Conference 2008: 7th-9th April
Programme
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Introduction: What is an e-book?
Features of e-books, positive and negative
Finding out what is available
Purchase and access models
Making e-books available to library users
Managing an e-book collection
Preservation
Conclusion: Are e-books for you?
What is an e-book?
A digital version of the type of textual
information you would acquire in print for a
Library or Information centre, excluding
serials!
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Scholarly monographs
Reference works
Textbooks
Fiction
Reports & Government information
Statistics
And more….
E-book technology
E-books consist of content, software to access
the content, and hardware to display it.
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HTML, Adobe Acrobat or proprietary software
Palmtops, e.g. Blackberry
iPhones etc. with internet access
Laptops, Desktops, Tablet PCs with wired or wireless
internet access
• Dedicated e-book readers e.g. Cybook, iLiad
• Still need technology, but usability improving: TFT
monitors, E-ink
E-book readers
1. Cybook from Bookeen
2. iLiad from iRex
Positive features
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Available 24/7
Remote access for distance & part-time users
Content downloadable/Printable
Multimedia features – video and audio
Interactive features – tables and graphs
Search features – title, collection, publisher, package level
Cross-linking facilities – e.g. into e-journal articles from
bibliographies
Tools allowing personalisation - annotation, clipboards, favourites
Links to outside information sources
Multiple simultaneous access technically possible
Rapid collection building whilst saving space
No staff or special equipment required for circulation
No fines or heavy books to cart around!
Issues for readers
• Print books still preferred for extended reading
and portability
• Difficulties in discovering suitable e-books – lack of
effective cross-search
• Breadth/depth of e-book collections limited compared to
print collection
• Barriers to access imposed by technology, including
Digital Rights Management
• Multiple interfaces and system requirements can be
confusing
Issues for collection
development
• Limited availability – approx. 10% of books published
have an e-equivalent (over 90% for journals)
• Publication timelag – e-version can be embargoed for 6
months to 2 years
• Purchasing individual titles can be expensive compared
to print
• Limited simultaneous user access often imposed
• Digital Rights Management software can limit rights
granted by law
• Collections can be volatile (movement into and out of
packages)
• Links can change without notice
Finding out what is
available
• Trade bibliographies e.g. Nielsen BookData, Bowker
Books in Print
• Union Catalogues e.g. OCLC WorldCat
• Aggregators e.g. NetLibrary, Ebrary
• Publishers’ websites and customer account reps
• Library book suppliers’ online catalogues (may not be
comprehensive)
• National and international agencies’ websites for reports
Acquiring e-books
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Library books suppliers (Dawson, Coutts, Blackwell)
National Agreements (JISC, CHEST)
Consortium Agreements (NHS, SUPC, NOWAL)
Direct from publisher
Subscription Agents (cross-over with e-journals)
Free e-books (Oxford Text Archive, Project Gutenberg)
Google Books
Request content from publishers (via suppliers or
consortia)
• Create your own from printed collections, if out of
copyright or with permission
Purchase & access
models
• Subscription model for libraries, includes
updates/new editions: limited simultaneous users or site
licence
– Reference works, expanding packages of monographs
• Purchase model for libraries, does not usually include
updates/new editions: one-time purchase, different
models for numbers of simultaneous users
– Individual monographs/textbooks
• Purchase model for users: download once, access
multiple times
– Fiction / “consumer” non-fiction
• Rental model for users: time-limited access and/or
printing for a one-off fee
– Textbooks
Cataloguing & collection
management
• Catalogue as separate records or integrate with print
record?
• Which sequence & shelfmark?
• Catalogue from scratch, or MARC record import?
• How to address link management?
• Where to put information about passwords &
authentication?
• Where to put information about software & system
requirements?
• How will you cope with package updates?
• Will you catalogue free resources?
Making e-books available
to users
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Training & awareness
Addition to Library Catalogue
Addition to printed & online reading lists
Addition of links or a search box on Library website
Inclusion of E-books in E-journal A-Z lists?
Implementation of OpenURL Link Resolvers with Ebooks: linking from citations and bibliographic databases
• Implementation of Federated Search Engines with Ebooks
• Lending E-book readers with content loaded might suit
some audiences
Archiving & preservation
Why?
• Protection of institutional investment
• For the benefit of future scholarship
• Protection against technological redundancy
• Protection against publisher/aggregator liquidation
How?
• Print on demand = large depositories of content
• Legal Deposit at national libraries (enforcement?)
• LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, Portico & other archiving initiatives
• Curation of data at individual institutions and by
publishers
Conclusion: Are e-books
for you?
• Consider the goals of your users, your library, and your
organization, and how e-books might fulfil those goals…
• Consider how you may need to change your processes
and procedures…
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Budgets
Acquisitions processes
Cataloguing
Training staff & users
Troubleshooting
Preservation
• Try e-books out for size!
Any questions?
Kate Price
E-Strategy & Resources Manager
University Library
George Edwards Building
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH
[email protected]