ELAG 2005: Ebooks workshop report

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ELAG 2005 E-books workshop report
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Participants

• Karim Chevre, Marc Francey, Isabelle de Kaenel,
  Veronique Debellemaniere, Corrado Pettenati,
  Paula Goossens and Graham Tritt

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WHAT is an e-book?

• Not a device
• E-content distributed in various ways (mainly Web
  but some CD-ROM)
• An e-book is an electronic or digital version of
  a print book or may exist solely in electronic
  form

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TYPES of e-book

• Textbooks text with embedded links etc.
• Multimedia books..text, sound, image useful say
  for medics, engineering etc.
• Talking books useful for visually impaired
  people
• Reference books..dictionaries, encyclopaedias
  etc.
• Directories etc. that need frequent updating
• Fiction
• Digitised versions of out of print books

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Full view
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(No Transcript)
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Some stakeholders in e-books

• Users (in HE - students, staff,
  researchers)Librarians (pivotal as often the
  point of contact between an HE institution and
  e-book market)Publishers (some very involved,
  some a little, some not yet)Aggregators (e.g.
  netLibrary)Software and hardware
  providersAuthors

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WHY e-books?.. Users views

• Available 24/7 from local desktop/laptop
• Speed of access
• gt1 person may be able to access the same e-book
• No need to physically visit the library
• Searchable and usually special navigation
  features
• Potential to download/ manipulate information
  within fair dealing restrictions
• Potential for use by those with disabilities
• Provides different learning opportunities

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WHY NOT e-books?.. Users views

• May be difficult to read and browse
• Lack of standardisation of interfaces
• May be difficult to access several e-books at the
  same time
• No suitable content in appropriate language
• Need to have suitable password etc.
• No need to go to library
• Lack of awareness

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WHY e-books? Library views

• Saves space
• No lost or damaged titles pas en place
• Can provide adjustable fonts etc., speech output
  for disabled users
• Can be integrated into VLEs
• Instant delivery of purchased books
• Can be used to provide access to out of print
  materials
• Easier production of statistics of use
• Dynamic collection management
• Same title can be used by more people more
  easily
• Possible cost saving of acquisitions processes

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WHY NOT e-books?.... Library views

• Variation in licensing models
• Variation in user interfaces
• Less contact with users
• Metadata issues not always clear
• Possible virus from supplier
• Need for promotion
• Books needed are not available in e-format
• Challenge to keep up to date with developments

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Examples of e-book suppliers

• Academic Library
• Gale Virtual Library
• netLibrary
• Safari

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Some management issues

• What supplier? What content?
• What licensing models?
• Is it cost-effective?
• What is user interface like?
• What statistics?
• How to provide metadata?
• What customer support from provider?
• How to promote?
• Consortial deals?

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Finally

• Some case studies
• Look at work of e-book working group of Joint
  Information Systems Committee in UK
• Thank you!