Digital Books for Digital Libraries Issues surrounding the
Digital Books for Digital Libraries Issues surrounding the collection management of e-books Ray Lonsdale & Chris Armstrong 1
Introduction Structure of workshop o Define an e-book o Demonstrate types of e-books o Group work n Value and constraints of e-books n Management and use issues o Feedback and general discussion 2
What is an e-book? Does it depend on: o Its origin o How it is distributed For some, e-books mean the hardware o Its format o How it is read o Semantics When is an e-book a database? 3
What is an e-book? “Any piece of electronic text regardless of size or composition (a digital object), but excluding journal publications, made available electronically or optically for any device (handheld or desk-bound) that includes a screen. ” Armstrong, Edwards & Lonsdale, 2002 But a public library view might include the need for lending – thus physical portability 4
Types of e-books Free e-books o Aesop’s Fables from Gutenberg o http: //www. gutenberg. net/browse/IA_A o International Children’s Digital Library o http: //www. icdlbooks. org/ o Shakespeare (MIT) o http: //the-tech. mit. edu/Shakespeare/ o Jane Austin (Online-Literature) o http: //www. online-literature. com/austen/emma/ 5
Types of e-books Academic monographs o City of Bits n http: //mitpress 2. mit. edu/e-books/City_of_Bits/ o The Two Cities n http: //artsweb. bham. ac. uk/citysites/ 6
Types of e-books Reference books o Oxford n http: //www. oxfordreference. com/ Textbooks o Spartacus n http: //www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/FWW. htm Study Guides o Net. Library n http: //www. netlibrary. com/ 7
Group work o Working in groups, discuss the following issues surrounding the management and use of ebooks. o You will have 30 minutes for discussion. o Choose a representative who will speak on behalf of your group in the general discussion session at the end. o We shall lead this general discussion and your representative should take notes and be prepared to respond to each issue as we introduce them. 8
E-Books in use o Advantages o Disadvantages 9
Issues to discuss o Management implications for library n n n n n Discovering the existence of e-books Selection policy Acquisition Licensing Facilitating access within the library/institution/authority Hardware and/or networking to accommodate e-books Evaluating use Promotion in the institution Archiving Other o Use n n Teaching and learning/curriculum Reference use Recreational use Need for research into usage 10
E-Books in use o Advantages n n n n n Space Updating Security Remote access Concurrent access Added value features Portability Integration into VLEs Tailoring texts Other o Disadvantages n n n n n Hardware / software Printing and copying Physical use Interface problems Management issues Availability of texts Authentication Information Literacy Technophobia Other 11
Issues: Management o Discovering the existence of e-book titles n Bibliographic control – lack of (for both free and commercial e-books) n Need for legal deposit / national bibliography n Need for bibliographic map o o o Publishers’ advertising Discussion/mailing lists Staff recommendations Publisher web sites Internet/colleagues Subject lists Library press Publishers’ catalogues Other library Web sites Conferences/Exhibitions Serendipity Journals 12
Issues: Management o Selection policy n Need for policy / revision of policy n Need for set of criteria: appropriateness of resource for user group(s) as well as quality issues n Comparison of formats (to buy in paper or electronic form) n Training of staff 13
Issues: Management o Acquisition n Need for approvals / publisher trials n Passwords, etc n Incorporation in library management systems n Cataloguing issues 14
Issues: Management o Licensing n User groups (in library / in institution / remote / distance learners / professional users) n n n Number of concurrent users Part-book access Printing/ e-copying / copying to laptops Charging mechanisms Charging models Consortia / National or regional licences 15
Issues: Management o Facilitating access n OPAC (ability to link from Cataloguing) n Web site n Lending / use of portable readers / loan of readers n Intellectual Property Management: encryption of texts may mean that a book may have to remain on the workstation/reader on which it was downloaded 16
Issues: Management o Hardware and/or Networking n Intranet / LAN n Broadband n Workstation positioning n Disenfranchised users 17
Issues: Management o Evaluating use n Use of publisher’s statistics – whose responsibility? n Library management systems (adequacy) n Qualitative evaluation? 18
Issues: Management o Promotion in the institution n Attitudes to using e-books n Methods for promotion n Information Literacy o Implications for different types of library n Role of publishers 19
Issues: Management o Archiving n Is there a need? o If you never ‘acquire’ but only licence n Role of publisher n Does the licence allow archiving n Long-term archiving – coping with hardware/software obsolescence 20
Issues: Management o Other n Links with publishers to develop a critical mass n Need for national initiatives n Collection Development Policy for eresources embracing e-books n Special needs / disability access 21
Issues: Use o Teaching and learning / Curriculum o Reference use o Recreational use o Need for research into usage of e-books 22
Issues: Use o Teaching and learning / Curriculum n Appropriateness of format for teaching methods used n Working with academic staff n Availability of relevant materials (subject, language) or does availability drive the curriculum n Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) o Inclusion of commercial / in-house e-books n Licence dictates what you can do 23
Issues: Use o Reference use n Search functionality n Other functionality n Ability to cut-and-paste with citation available n New skills for ILS staff? 24
Issues: Use o Recreational use n Range of e-books made available o e. g. General fiction n Use of portable readers for loan vs. ‘online bookshelf’ 25
Issues: Use o Need for research into usage of e-books n In academic, public, school libraries, etc. n Attitudes n Usage patterns n Impact on learning, teaching and reading 26
Digital Books for Digital Libraries Issues surrounding the collection management of e-books http: //www. i-a-l. co. uk/ 27
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