E-Book Project

October 5, 2005 E-Books 1

E-Book Project“One solution we have decided on is toinvest in a pilot project in electronic books,” Moore says, “as are other libraries both in Canada and internationally. Medicine and the social sciences are two areas that are seeing enormous growth in these new research tools, which provide up-to-date and convenient access. There are also economic benefits in providing more access to more titles in areas of high demandthrough electronic versions in addition to hard cover books and journals.”

Library system: meeting the demands of today's usersU of T libraries strive to provide well-lit, comfortable, properly designed study environments

by Michah Rynor September 23, 2005http://www.steppingup.utoronto.ca/bin/001652.asp


Goals

• Demand• Convenience• Equality• Discovery• Assessment

Discipline specific demands– Medicine & allied

health– Social sciences

Unvoiced demands– Student

expectations


Goals

• Demands• Convenience• Equality• Discovery• Assessment

82% of e-journal use is outside the library

25% of e-journal use is when the Library is closed


Goals


50% of our students take classes more than 30 km from the main campus

Medical students take classes in “academies” in teaching hospitals


Goals


Catalogue records provide crude approaches to the content of books

Users want to find specific information in books


Goals


We do not know how people use books

We do not know what the impact of e-books will be


E-Book Holdings

• Electronic Information Resources database lists ≈ 54,000 titles– ≈ 250 publishers– ≈ 65 service providers (top 12 shown)

Chadwyck-Healey 15,469NetLibrary 9,139University of Michigan 8,102Books24x7 4,222SPIE Digital Library 4,119Thesaurus Linguae Graecae 2,844ProQuest 2,701National Academies Press 2,320American Council of Learned Societies 968Cornell University Library 925University of Toronto Libraries 600CogNet (MIT Press) 471Total 51,880

– Will increase by ≈ 200,000 titles as records for major e-book collections are added to EIR and Sirsi databases

60%

90%


E-Book Use

Titles Value MeasureSince

Books 24x7 2,400 1,189,855 Pages viewedApr 02

CogNet (MIT Press) 471 135,574 DownloadsOct 02

Chadwyck-Healey 15,469 16,442 Full text accessesJan 01

Knovel 456 46,280 Titles visitedJan 02

netLibrary 9,139 118,535 Full text accessesJan 01

Oxford Reference 96 5,640 Full content unitsJan 03

ProQuest (EEBO) 2,701 5,350 Full text accessesJan 04

ProQuest (PQD) ? 89,059 Full text accessesSep 98

StatRef 11 69,746 Documents RetrievedJan 03


E-Book Use

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004


netLibrary Use Analysis

• When both print & electronic are used– Electronic > Print 58%– Print > Electronic 40%– Print = Electronic 2%

• Total use = 129,798– Print 29.5%– Electronic 70.5%


New Demands

• Faculty of Medicine– Planned shift to electronic

delivery– Require equal access for all

students


High Demand

Loans Titles• Inter-campus borrowing

St. George 12,941 8,989UTM 20,303 16,375UTSC 9,135 7,711

42,379 33,075• Short term loan

Total ?????? 32,222


Best from the users’ perspective

Interface Integration

PublishersMany interfaces

Very little customizationVery little opportunity

AggregatorsSingle interface

Little customizationSome opportunity

Local systemSingle interface

Much customizationMuch opportunity

Convenient Access


Discovery

• Traditional access– Catalogue– Electronic resources database

• Content search– Single search for all full text

content


AASCU, EDUCAUSE, MicrosoftAASCU, EDUCAUSE, Microsoft

Today’s students

Technology from theTechnology from theStudents’ PerspectiveStudents’ Perspective


Today’s students

How Do YouHow Do YouUse the LibraryUse the Libraryfor Research?for Research?


Today’s students

I use the Library about, I use the Library about, I would say, at least I would say, at least

once a weekonce a week


Today’s students

I don’t use it that muchI don’t use it that much


Today’s students

You know, if I neededYou know, if I neededa book, definitely it’s a book, definitely it’s

the first place I’d gothe first place I’d go


Today’s students

You gotta go to the You gotta go to the library and actually library and actually

get documentation or get documentation or get hard cover booksget hard cover books

Professors are pretty cagey about Professors are pretty cagey about over use of internet assignments or over use of internet assignments or internet sources so they won’t allow itinternet sources so they won’t allow it


Today’s students

The physical library? NoThe physical library? No

I do most of myI do most of myresearch onlineresearch online


Today’s students

I go to the internet and I I go to the internet and I do go to the library web do go to the library web site on the internet and site on the internet and search through theresearch through there


Today’s students

Occasionally I actually Occasionally I actually have to come in and have to come in and find an article that’s find an article that’s not in electronic not in electronic formatformat

I get out of there I get out of there as quick as I canas quick as I can


Today’s students

I can find pretty I can find pretty much everythingmuch everything

I need on the webI need on the web

Unless I really need a book Unless I really need a book that I don’t want to go buy that I don’t want to go buy or that there isn’t enough or that there isn’t enough information on the web, I information on the web, I

don’t go in theredon’t go in there


Today’s students

A lot of the A lot of the materials in the materials in the Library they’re Library they’re antiquatedantiquated


Today’s students

I only go into the I only go into the library when I library when I have to, reallyhave to, really


Today’s students

• Have grown up with the internet• Expect immediacy• Are adept at multi-tasking• Learn asynchronously• Think they know everything• Prefer image to text• Prefer electronic to print


Assessment

• 3 year study on the use of electronic books– Analysis of use of electronic titles

• Emphasis on use of comparable print & electronic titles (when both held)

– Analysis of navigation to and through content (web logs)

– Analysis of user opinion (surveys & focus groups)

– Analysis of actual use (observation)


Implementation

• Delivery• Content• Promotion


Delivery• Many have the wrong cost model

– Annual subscription for content

• Many have the wrong use model– Use based on traditional “loan” model

• Many require a “non-standard” reader• Few have a wide range of content• MyiLibrary (Coutts)

– Offers advantages over others• The “right” cost model• The “right” use model• Standard (PDF & HTML) readers• Wide range of content• Can support dealer selection plans• Publisher neutral & publisher trusted


Best short term option

Best long term option

Interface Indicators Integration Infrastructure

Publishers

Many interfaces

Very little customization

Inconsistent Very little opportunity

Aggregators

Single interface

Little customization

Consistent

Little flexibility

Some opportunity

Local system

Single interface

Much customization

Consistent

Much flexibility

Much opportunity Hardware & staff required

Delivery

Interface Integration

PublishersMany interfaces

Very little customizationVery little opportunity

AggregatorsSingle interface

Little customizationSome opportunity

Local systemSingle interface

Much customizationMuch opportunity


Content

• Discipline specific content• High demand content

– Short term loan– Inter-campus loan

• Critical mass– Contemporary publications– Acquisition of entire title lists

• Integration into dealer selection plans• Virtual reference collection


Promotion

• Promotion – not instruction– Creation of smart spots

• Field of Dreams approach– “If you build it, they will come”

but it is a slow process

• Integration into curriculum• Changing institutional values


Where we are heading


Questions / Discussion

Warren HolderUniversity of TorontoLibraries

[email protected]