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E-Books and EchidnasLooking Beyond the Spines

Andrew WellsUniversity Librarian

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Outline

• Personal reflections• E-books at UNSW – institutional context• Consortial activity in Australia

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E-books – what are they?

• More than digital versions of print books• Compare Harrison’s Online and

Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine• Different experience!• E-books part of spectrum of e-content

– Reference– Monographs– Journals– Textbooks

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E-book challenges

• How are they used?• Matching content to user needs• Delivery – reading, printing,

downloading• Access – who can use them?• Making content more useable• Buying them for the sake of buying

them

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Tipping points

• Journals may tip from print/online to online only in 5-10 years

• Conceivable for e-books?• How many years left for the era of the

‘hybrid library’

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Inhibitors

• Multiple delivery platforms• Licensing and purchasing models• Lack of current content

• These problems will be resolved … when?

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UNSW Library and e-books

• 75% of budget spent on e-content• 90% on research content• Content first; format second• No target for e-book acquisition• No strong demand for e-books• But strong demand for e-journals

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Enrolled students No textbooks purchased

No of readings purchased

Up to 50 2 2

Up to 100 3 3

Up to 200 4 4

Up to 300 5 4

Up to 400 6 4

Up to 500 7 4

Over 500 8 4

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Textbooks and course support• Quotas for library provision• Electronic reserve• Statutory licences in copyright law• Students satisfied with current provision

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Research

• Most acquisition for research• Well used• Research repository for UNSW research

-- UNSWorks

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Areas for improvement

• Intend buying more• Discovery services• Statistics for decision making• Delivery

– Readers?– Print on demand?

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Collaboration

• CEIRC = C= EIRC• C = Council of Australian University

Librarians• EIRC = Electronic Information

Resources Committee• CEIRC Program = consortium for

datasets purchasing

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CEIRC membership

• 39 CAUL member• 8 from New Zealand (CONZUL = Council

of New Zealand University Librarians)• >25 ‘external’ – government and

research libraries

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CEIRC activity

• 150 products• 10 vendors• Fees for staffing, meetings and travel• Member of ICOLC

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CEIRC success factors

• Opt in /opt out • Light governance• Flexibility – one size does not fit all

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CEIRC e-book survey

• 2007, 39 responses• 57 products identified• Textbooks a gap• Old stuff!• Some looking at pay per view or user

driven selection

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Market leaders

• These products used by >20 libraries• Wiley Interscience• NetLibrary• Elsevier• Safari• Gale Virtual Reference Library• Informit• James Bennett eTitle

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