1. Session 288 e-Books and Transportation: Familiar Technology in a New Setting Transportation Research Board Library and Information Science for Transportation (ABG40) Committee http://trblist.org Monday, January 13, 2014 Hilton, Columbia Hall #7

2. SPEAKERS Chris Pringle, Elsevier Ltd. Roberto A. Sarmiento, Northwestern University Kenneth A. Winter, Virginia Department of Transportation

3. WHAT DO MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MANAGING E-BOOKS AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL Roberto A. Sarmiento, Head Northwestern University Transportation Library TRB Library and Information Science for Transportation Committee Washington, DC Monday, January 13, 2014

4. INTRODUCTION E-books are wonderful resources and are increasingly substituting hard-copy books E-books have many advantages and some disadvantages Managing e-books (singly or collections) at the institutional level do create an additional level of complexity Talking about commercially-produced, not internally-produced Goal of presentation is to make you aware of the complex issues in order to better understand how to develop and manage digital collections

5. E-BOOKS ARE NOT THE SAME AS HARD-COPY BOOKS. HOW? Acquiring o Hard Copy (H-C)= Buy -> Process -> Shelf All steps contained within library o E-Books (E-Bs) for libraries NOT like buying “personal copy” DRM: Who can see it? Where? How? IT involvement “Buy”, “Lease”, “Lease to buy”, etc. – Lots of deals! o H-C ownership = Pretty much for ever o E-Bs ownership at question; we REALLY do not own them

6. E-BOOKS ARE NOT THE SAME AS HARD-COPY BOOKS. HOW? Access o H-C: On shelves and available as long as library is open or you have a key to the library. ~8:30-5:00 M-F o E-Bs: 24/365. Unless server is down. o H-C: 1 to 1 o E-B: 1 to 1 or 1 to many - Access is negotiable o H-C: ILL pretty much OK o E-Bs: ILL OK with restrictions, up to “no loans”

7. E-BS ARE NOT THE DEVICE Content vs receptacle Desktop, laptop, tablet, phone…future Devise-specific restrictions (Kindle vs Nook vs iPad) Devise usability and ergonomics (desktop vs tablets vs phones) Future compatibility H-C: all the way back to papyrus, no manual required

8. IS IT REALLY OWNERSHIP? H-C: Buy/use. Then discard or donate or re-sale. Some kept on shelves for hundreds of years. E-Bs: Technically you do not own the book. You pay for the “right” to use the book from the publisher o Publishers hold all cards. Yes, there is room for negotiation and you should negotiate how you will make the book accessible and how users will use book. o Most likely will reside on their server o Cannot resell it o Lending will be highly regulated and somewhat restricted o Book may even disappear without your knowledge or consent

9. COSTS H-C Processing: Order-> Arrives-> Pay-> [Catalog-> Labels-> Pockets]-> To Shelf-> READY TO USE “Plain” E-Bs could/may be cheaper than H-C o Anything extra adds cost (locations, viewers, etc.) E-Bs most likely will have an annual or maintenance fee E-Bs Processing: Order-> Negotiate extras, access, etc.-> Review/Sign contract-> [Coordinate with IT for firewall, remote access, website, etc.]-> [Catalog]-> Periodically check to see if e-book is available-> READY TO USE-> [Review metrics]-> [Periodically review/renegotiate contract]-> etc.

10. IMPACT ON STAFF TIME H-C: Pretty much restricted to library/info center staff E-Bs: Library staff, IT staff, lawyers (?), contract’s staff Multiple vendors/publishers = Separate deals o Multiple unique requirements = Complexity! NOT a “buy and forget” acquisition o Requires management o Partnerships (Library-Publisher-IT-Organization-Users) o Surrender some control to publisher

11. SINGLES VS COLLECTIONS 1 E-B at a time: easier to manage (less time, etc.) Publishers moving towards “collections” o Lower pricing per unit o More buying options o Stuff you may not want included o Reviewing/fine tuning may trigger penalties

12. RANDOM COMMENTS Purchasing both formats too expensive o Technical books in digital format are still expensive o E-Bs may not be the cheapest alternative Upgrading to E-Bs over H-C is recommended for certain subjects/titles o Newly published books: E-Bs preferred Some type of books “better” in digital format: o Encyclopedias, maps, large format, reference, tables

13. BOTTOM LINE E-Bs extra features are worth it! Technology still developing Publishers still searching for best economic model “Technical” transportation books not there yet, future Towards a more universal/open platform Copyright will continue to be an issue

14. Thank you! r-sarmiento@northwestern.edu http://trblist.org