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Jill Taylor-Roe, Newcastle University Library
Jill.Taylor-Roe@ncl.ac.uk
9th November, 2005
Acquiring E-book Content: An Academic Perspective
A modern Grail Quest: Acquiring the desired e-book content…
What are the drivers for an academic library? Student Numbers Course Structure CPD Courses Distance Learning International Students Pressure on Physical Resources Failure of physical resources to meet all core
demands
Student Numbers
Historical Studies, English Lit – between 150-350 students per module
Medicine – 945 students on clinical placements
Business Studies – between 300-350 students per module
Course Structure
Seminars – high demand – short timescale Clinical Placements – working in hospitals on
shifts PGCE – working in schools Multidisciplinary Courses – same resources
needed by students on different programmes Key texts – used by UGs and taught PGs
Growth of CPD
MEd – research degree for practicing teachers
Courses for Clinicians and Health workers MBAs/ Diplomas in Management MA Creative Writing MA Local History
Distance Learning
MScBiodiversity and Ecotourism – joint programme with Thai University
PhD Educational Psychology – students based in South Yorks and Scotland
MSc Oncology and Palliative Care – clinicians based in hospitals around the Northern Region
MSc Pipeline Structure – students based on oil rigs in the North Sea
International Students
High Fees Increased Expectations Educational and Cultural Differences
Pressure on physical resources Heavy Use by 300 plus Students takes its toll !
Print Alone is not the answer
Multiple Copy provision – 1:15, 1:10 Different Loan Periods – hours, days, weeks, Reference Only Not what users want!
Are E-books the answer to our prayers?
The Start of the Quest :Initial Experience Not much available! Reference Books Encyclopedias
Early Adventures…
ORO Wiley Encyclopedias Encyclopedia of Life Sciences Rudinet
More recent acquisitions… T&F Ebooks Books@ Ovid Kumar & Clark – Clinical Medicine European Retail Handbook KNOVEL EEBO ECCO
What we really, really want…
More textbooks! Current wishlist runs to several hundred More interactive books – with data, images
MCQs, questionnaires etc Multi User licences Reliable usage data!
What exactly are we measuring? Sessions Page views Hits Prints Downloads Title Visits Secure Chapters viewed
What does it tell us? E-Book usage 2005; top 20 by printed pages
As yet there are no clear KPI’s for e-books. Costs per printed page might be one. The ratio of Print Quota (maybe 5% of total book) to pages printed is one indicator of popularity.
Title Print Quota Pages Printed
Climate, History and the Modern World
22 22
Hydrology of the UK, The 16 16
Oral History Reader, The 24 15
Introduction to Vygotsky, 15 15
Housing Policy in Europe 18 15
Urban Planning in Europe 15 15
Alcohol and Heart Disease 14 14
Reformation World, The 29 14
Museums, Society, Inequality 14 14
Total downloads may include; Copy (& Paste?), Save to Disk, as well as Printed Pages – depends on the licence.
Importance of COUNTER!
There is as yet no generally agreed standard for e-book usage reports.
Consequently each publisher has a different format:
Impossible therefore to draw any meaningful benchmarking comparisons.
Where next?
More work with publishers Experiment with pricing models Importance of JISC E-Books Group Agree COUNTER code for stats reports Compare usage of print and e versions User studies – what do they prefer and how
are they using the books?
Will we get there? …Yes – provided that…Publishers are willing to experiment with
content and pricing models
Efforts are made to standardise usage data
We listen to our customers – who are ultimately the people who will determine whether ebooks are a long term success.
“So aftir the quest of the sankgreall was fulfilled… was there grete joy in the courte” (Malory: Morte d’Arthur)
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