EBOOKS Current events in library provision Colin Sinclair, Library Content Manager.

A quick look at ebooks Current state of the ebook market. How we are bringing ebooks into the library collection. How access is enabled. Sample platforms. Some of the pros and cons. Costs. A look to the future.

The academic ebook market Still relatively small, digital sales worth £130m in 2009, with academic/professional the dominant sector. (1) Sharp growth, 22% for (1) Now around 10% of total academic book sales. Some publishers show 200% sales growth in this area. (2) 1. Publishers Associaton Statistics Yearbook, ALPSP Survey, The Bookseller, 10 th March 2010.

What is happening in Universities? 65% of teaching staff and students have used an ebook to support their work or study or for leisure. Over 50% of users say the last ebook they used was provided by the library. Most users dip in and out of several chapters Demand for access to printed books exceeds supply. JISC National ebooks Observatory Project: final report. Nov 09.

Impact at Stirling Over 2000 titles held. All subject areas. Spending in 2008/09 = £6,000. Spending in 2009/10 = £16,000 + E versions of print and, increasingly, e-only. Implementation of national procurement agreement for Scottish HEIs.

Procurement EU Tender, Three suppliers selected. Purchasing decisions based on: Availability of content Price 2 year agreement, to end of 2011.

How we offer access Library catalogue holds details of ebooks alongside print titles. Catalogue links to a range of platforms. Via library webpages, direct to platforms. Linked from reading lists and WebCT Authenticated via Shibboleth. Read online or download. Free ebooks Via special section of library website.

Advantages to users Available 24/7, 365. Multiple simultaneous access. Portability – 100s of books on one device. Cannot be vandalised Additional functionality. – Searching – Notes – Dictionary – Audio

Advantages to library. Speedier procurement Space saving, now that we are short of shelf space. Access for off-campus users. Improving services to disabled students. Carbon footprint? No paper No delivery miles. Readers – 100(0)s of books, one reader. Footprint of reading devices, energy to run them.

Risks Perpetual ownership? Only on platform chosen. Content outwith library control. Platform availability. PC / network access. Costs …

Cost models Publishers list price, plus… Fixed fee for limited number of accesses annually. Platform fees VAT Still evolving

Catalysts for further development JISC Observatory? Increased content availability. Fears of piracy not realised, greater experimentation amongst publishers. Proven selling and distribution models. The student?

Future scenarios E-textbooks. Increasing provision, greater availability of content. Handheld devices? – Mostly desktop / laptop provision to date. – Book sales to students for handheld devices peripheral. – iphone? (10% of Stirling students now have one). – ipad? Rental and other cost models. Hybrid texts. Direct sales to students. Questia? Demand driven purchasing.

There is an app for this…. Cannongate Publishing

Questions? Library Content Management x7218.

How ebooks are made available to staff and students. The range of ebooks covered by the library catalogue and how these are presented to the staff and students. The advantages of ebooks to users – to include 24/7 access, multiple concurrent usage, secure access (no threat of loss or damage) as well as improved functionality such as full text searching within the content of a work. There are also some advantages to the library – including saving space, a reduced carbon footprint and a quicker supply chain. The changing ebook market. As well as looking at how the library has increased its spending on ebooks, this will also touch on the improving range of titles available in the market, the variety of purchasing models currently available and the advantages and risks of each. This could include discussion on how students can purchases ebook content not provided by the library and free ebook content. Future plans. We are committed to increasing the amount of electronic content available and it is hoped that the session will include some discussion on how we can improve ebook provision in the future and on how we see the market developing in the future – this will include discussion on hybrid texts (ebooks made up of content from several different works), time-limited access and the possibility of e-textbooks becoming available.