20 October 2008Hildegard Schäffler - ICOLC Fall Meeting Munich Requirements for E-Book Standards

2 What is the problem? E-Books are rapidly gaining ground in libraries, but they still suffer from a lack of standardisation »Cf. ICOLC Working Group on E-Books Standards Examples » Business models » Access models » Distribution channels and availability » Metadata » Usability and functionality  How does this compare to other e-resources?

3 Business Models - Pricing Pricing issues »Lack of transparency -E.g. different prices for one and the same book on different aggregator platforms »Print and e-pricing often unrelated E-journals in comparison » Great variety of business models, but subscription model at the title level consistent » Deep Discount models

4 Business Models - Textbooks Textbooks are different » Demand for e-books cannot be fully satisfied yet for lack of adequate business models » Problem: Business models must take into account previous sale of multiple copies and private student market » Usage surveys show that at least in the short term electronic availability can generate additional print sales Quite unique situation as compared to other e-resources (except for some smaller publishers)

5 Business Models - Consortia Consortia models still under development »Not yet offered by every publisher »Model 1: Pick&Choose at the member level with revenue-driven discount structure -Flexibility at the content level, but administrative overhead »Model 2: Content Sharing -Access pooling -Subject bundles -Big Deal? Consortia models for e-journals »Shared access as defining principle »But: Can Pick&Choose models for e-books address the drawbacks of e-journal consortia?

6 Access Models Database vs. Lending Model » Unrestricted access / simultaneous user access vs. replica of conventional lending procedure » Lending model illustrates lack of standardisation in business models and publishers‘ worries about the print market » But: Restricted access will probably survive in order to model the multiple copy issue of the print world Other e-resources in comparison »Lending model unique in e-book market »Why did we accept restrictions with databases in the first place?

7 Distribution Channels and Availability Distribution channels - a maze »Bundles sold directly; single titles often via aggregators »Aggregators only receive a selection of titles, i.e. they cannot offer the full title portfolio »Aggregators don‘t get the latest titles »New role of subscription agents »Online first? E-journals in comparison »Single subscription access also cumbersome »But: no principal restriction of distribution channels »Online first as standard model

8 Metadata Free delivery of metadata included in most license agreement »MARC21 standard »But: Data inadequate in terms of -Actual database fields delivered and quality control -Delivery routines »Indexing option? New quality of outsourcing Definition of standards and some degree of quality control on the library side probably unavoidable

9 Usability and functionality Functional features »Still relatively close to the print book »Problem: multimedia and interactive features vs. proprietary reader software »Publisher- and aggregator-specific software solutions vs. local hosting Digital Rights Management »Degree of restriction varies considerably »Aggregators: Finding the least common denominator Other e-resources in comparison »Similar variety in functionalities offered »But: Enhanced requirements for the monographic format »DRM less restrictive than with e-books

10 Thank you very much for your attention! Phone: +49-(0)