Developing an E-book Collection A Toolkit for Libraries Kate Price E-Strategy & Resources Manager University of Surrey UKSG Conference 2008: 7 th -9 th April

Programme 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! 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. 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 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 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 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 E- books: linking from citations and bibliographic databases Implementation of Federated Search Engines with E- books 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… –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