EBooks: A Challenge for Acquisitions

1
E-Books A Challenge for Acquisitions

• Whats so special about E-Books (Clare Tittel)
• Various business models in the acquisition of
  e-books (Carolyn McDougall)
• Collection development processes and cataloguing
  issues (Gordon Marrie)
• The future the next steps (Clare Tittel)

2
E-Books definition for this presentation

• Electronic books access via the www
• Not interested in pdf files
• Not interested in CD-Roms
• Not yet purchasing downloadable titles for hand
  held devices

3
Whats so special about e-books?

• Purchasing models completely different
• Access issues need special attention
• Acquisitions process for e-books separate from
  print

4
Whats so special about e-books?

• Purchasing models
• Lease vs. one-time purchase
• Package vs. title by title selection
• Minimum number of titles
• Pricing based on concurrent users

5
Whats so special about e-Books?

• Access issues
• No physical item received
• URL and notification of activation
• Special software requirements readers
• Authentication
• License agreement

6
Whats so special about e-books?

• Acquisitions process
• No main vendor for electronic titles
• Ordering on case by case basis
• Division between monographs and serials becomes
  blurred
• Closer liaison with Systems staff
• New skills are being developed

7
E-Books Various Business Models

• netLibrary
• ebrary
• Safari
• ScienceDirect/Wiley/Taylor Francis

8
netLibrary

• Features
• Currently over 130 000 titles
• USQ collection has around 4100 titles
• Purchase from netLibrary through DA Information
  Services
• Titles individually selected - only purchase what
  we require
• Perpetual access no annual fee
• Complete subject packages available however no
  price advantage for USQ

9
netLibrary

• Features
• Price equivalent to US hardcover list price plus
  access fee
• No platform fee 55 access fee charged on each
  title
• Recently published material
• User identification through IP recognition

10
netLibrary

• Procedure
• Online order created on netLibrary Titleselect
• Access advised by email from netLibrary
• E-books receipted in our system, ezproxy address
  added to Marc record
• Before invoice paid access is checked through
  Library catalogue

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netLibrary

• Challenges
• Cumbersome and time consuming method of
  purchasing each order has be processed twice
• Dedicated staff member needs to be responsible
  agent has not integrated e-book ordering with
  print ordering
• Only one user can view titles at a time, however
  email facility in place to advise when a
  requested title is available

12
ebrary

• Features
• Currently around 33 000 titles
• Whole collection or smaller subject or publisher
  based packages
• USQ subscribes to Academic Complete Package, no
  selection 20 600 titles
• Subscription based annual lease
• Pricing based on FTE currently around 2.65 Per
  FTE
• Marc records included in purchase price

13
ebrary

• Features
• ebrary reader needs to be installed -
• fast and free
• No limit on simultaneous users
• Excellent user features
• Authentication is via IP recognition

14
ebrary

• Procedure
• Acquisitions only deal with ebrary once a year to
  confirm and pay the annual renewal agent is
  IGroup Australia
• Monthly updates are received with additions and
  deletions of titles we have no control over
  these changes

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ebrary

• Challenges
• Expensive - USQ pays yearly lease of around
  32000
• From year to year some titles may be withdrawn
  can be a problem with recommended reading lists
• Potential for duplication titles purchased from
  another platform eg netLibrary may later be added
  to the ebrary database
• Now possible to purchase individually selected
  titles but minimum initial order must be 100
  titles

16
Safari

• Features
• Collection of IT only books
• Subscription based
• Pricing based on bands or slots of 50, 100,
  200, 300, and number of concurrent users
• USQ currently subscribes to 259 titles in 300
  slots
• Average price paid last year was 45

17
Safari

• Features
• USQ has two concurrent users for the package
• Titles can be swapped but they must stay in the
  collection for at least a month
• Most Safari titles not available perpetually
  through other e-book suppliers. This is not a big
  disadvantage for IT books as they quickly become
  out of date

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Safari

• Procedure
• Selection done via a spreadsheet emailed from
  Proquest
• Selection is done manually title by title or
  automatically by selecting subject groups
• Catalogue records are received in a file, checked
  for accuracy and added to our catalogue
• The purchase price of the subscription includes
  the catalogue record

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Safari

• Challenges
• Selecting and swapping of titles is expensive in
  staff time
• Requires another separate procedure which needs
  to be documented and updated
• Other competitive packages now coming into the
  market USQ will trial these

20
ScienceDirect / Wiley / Taylor and Francis

• Features
• These use existing serial platforms users are
  already familiar
• Pricing based on US hardcover list price
• Perpetual access one time purchase no annual
  fee
• Customised individual selection we only
  purchase what we need
• Concurrent access for unlimited users

21
ScienceDirect / Wiley / Taylor and Francis

• Procedure
• Order via email directly to the publisher
• Licence checked often an amendment will be sent
  for signature
• Request notification of access
• Once access granted and receipted, cataloguers
  add an ezproxy address to the marc record
• Full text access is then checked through the
  catalogue

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ScienceDirect / Wiley / Taylor and Francis

• Challenges
• Initial order may need to contain a minimum
  number of titles, however subsequent, single
  additional titles may be purchased at any time
• Dealing directly with publisher separate
  procedures need to be documented and maintained

23
ebook - example
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Collection development processes and cataloguing
issues

• Motivation why we are purchasing e-books
• Collection development processes
• Cataloguing
• Obtaining catalogue records
• Challenges

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Motivation why we are purchasing e-books

• High percentage external students (75)
• Early adopter electronic databases followed on
  to e-books
• E-resources useful out of hours
• Suitable products are now available to match
  teaching profile and meet demands (e.g. IT
  titles)
• Reduces multiple print copy purchases especially
  in multi-campus situation
• Holdings include individual academic and fiction
  titles as well as encyclopaedias and other
  reference works

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Motivation why we are purchasing e-books

• Usage statistics encouraging, much higher than
  for print
• Save shelf space- allow increased learning spaces
• Shorter turn-around times ordering to access
• Extra features to print copies (e.g. online
  dictionaries, automatic citation, text word
  search)

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Collection development processes

• netLibrary titles selected at same time as print
  copies if available has become part of
  collection policy
• Special efforts to buy electronic copies of
  student textbooks and recommended readings

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Cataloguing

• E-books have separate records on catalogue for
  each title i.e. 1 for print 1 for e-book
  easier to see which are electronic items
• Call number is ELECTRONIC RESOURCE (makes life
  easier for cataloguers not needing to assign
  Dewey numbers)
• GMD is electronic resource
• 530 tag gives collection source e.g. Online
  (ebrary) or Online (netLibrary)
• URL is in 856 field and includes ezproxy for
  purchased items to limit access to registered USQ
  students and staff
• Recently public catalogue has had URL display
  simplified to shorter version e.g. View online
  Click Here (netLibrary)

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Cataloguing public screen
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Cataloguing public screen
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Obtaining catalogue records

• Records usually obtained from Libraries Australia
  or OCLC modified for USQ use e.g. netLibrary
  from OCLC
• ebrary supplies monthly loads of new titles and
  deletions sometimes gt 1000 records added each
  month
• ebrary has tailored records to suit needs
  according to USQ instructions (call number,
  adding ezproxy etc.)
• ebrary records dont need to be amended by
  cataloguers, just sample checked in test database
  before loading to live catalogue
• Informit e-Library requires library staff to go
  to the administration site to find new additions
  for monographs, conference papers and reports
  then download catalogue records from commercial
  sources
• Above are just some of the wide variety of how
  records are obtained

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Challenges

• Bulk loads lead to loss of control of individual
  records quality while print records are all
  examined and edited by cataloguers
• Sample checking only possible for large files of
  records
• Duplicate records from bulk loads cause confusion
  in catalogue

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Challenges

• Changed and broken URLs
• Full text sometimes doesnt open up technical
  difficulties
• Loading options have to be discussed by
  cataloguers with Systems Team
• New area of expertise for cataloguers as well as
  acquisitions staff
• Greater role in collection development and
  liaison with acquisitions staff for cataloguers

34
E-Books next steps at USQ

• Increasing demand for electronic
• New approach to selection let the user choose
• Implications for staff

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Increasing demand for electronic books

• Flexibility agenda 24/7 access
• Usage statistics increasing
• More funds for electronic
• More products becoming available

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New selection model let the user choose

• Current selection processes not very effective
• New model where end-user determines what is
  purchased
• Load EBL titles into catalogue
• Up to 5 minutes browse free of charge
• Beyond 5 minutes loan charge applies
• Automatically purchase after x no of loans
• Unmediated user not aware of process
• Collection development driven by user
• Large volume of e-books available through the
  catalogue
• Automated purchasing after a pre-determined
  number of usage

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More E-books implications for staff

• Less physical processing
• More virtual checking
• More cataloguing and IT skills required
• Management support
• gather information about new products
• evaluate different models and packages
• collect and analyse usage statistics
• Upgrade skills - become IT savvy and be able to
  deal with more complex issues