Cary Alderson, heading of licensing at Jisc collections, has published an article on Research Information discussing the potential benefits of evidence based acquistion (EBA). EBA involves libraries paying an up front fee for a selected collection. Content is made available to users and usage is recorded via COUNTER statistics. After six months or a year the consortium then buys books, based on use, up to the value of the up-front fee.
Catching up with the twitter search on #ebooks and #libraries today finds ebooks and libraries very much in the spotlight outside the library world with these stories from commercial news pages:
Libraries are places that cultivate a love of reading. The people who borrow books from libraries are more likely to later buy books on their own. The same principle should apply to e-books, particularly if people borrow e-books from libraries to become more comfortable with the new format before making purchasing decisions
and calls for libraries and publishers to work together :
I am optimistic publishers and libraries will be able to make the necessary adjustments, just as they have in response to other challenges they have faced together through the years. However, to make the transition as smooth as possible, the time to start planning for those adjustments is now.
draws us into the topsy-turvy world of the written word, illuminating the turbulent, exciting journey from the book through the digital revolution. Writers, publishers, readers all in flux. Booksellers closing shop. Librarians and teachers seeking new roles. (IMDB summary)
Pointing a finger at the parents and teachers who have the power to affect the habits of the next generation, Roumani warns not of a dystopian future without books, but of one without readers. And although it’s never dwelled upon for more than a few moments, it is “Out of Print’s” most profound proclamation. (Jeva Lange, NY Daily News Books Blog “Page Views”)
Finally a couple of short posts from the Library blogsphere:
As is often the case, it’s worth taking a look at the comments section following many of these articles and posts…
Today’s twitter search on #ebooks and #libraries brings us the following:
Dimensions in business models for public library e-lending which summarizes in tabular form the the variety of issues and options that libraries and library policy makers need to take into account when negotiating for ebooks and/or developing policies.
You can read a summary of the themes of this supplement in Jazzy Wright’s District Dispatch blog post How libraries are evolving in the new digital realm.
From the latest twitter search on #ebooks and #libraries –
Respected author Ursula K Le Guin has blogged on Why Your Library May Not Have the E-Book You Want and tells readers:
So, dear reader, if your library doesn’t have the e-book you’d like to read, please don’t complain to your librarian. Complain to your publisher. Tell him to wake up and get real.
Meanwhile at the academic end of the spectrum InfoDocket has led us to this paper:
from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) (IN Research Library Issues, no. 280 (September 2012)). The article explains how they developed principles for ebook licencing and includes a Research Library Statement on Ebooks
As reported in The Digital Shift the much anticipated open source ebook platform has arrived with the beta launch of Enki.
The Califa Library Group and Contra Costa County Library (CCCL) today officially announced the beta launch of Enki Library, a new ebook platform designed to host and lend library-managed ebooks using the Douglas County model. Named after the Sumerian god of mischief, creativity, and intelligence, Enki went live at CCCL and the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) on May 6, and will soon serve multiple libraries in California, beginning with members of the Bay Area Library and Information System (BALIS) consortium.
As well as being
Named after the Sumerian god of mischief, creativity, and intelligence
Enki is also a rather nice anagram of e ink.
The latest news, courtesy of twitter (#ebooks and #libraries) and and other sources…
“Patrick Losinski, CEO of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Kim Fender, Director of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, recently briefed members of the Ohio Library Council with an overview of the current ebooks in libraries situation focusing on consumer access to titles.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit last year against Apple and six e-book publishers: Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Pearson, and Simon & Schuster. The trial is scheduled to begin June 3 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Apple has denied being part of any conspiracy,…
Approximately one in five books sold were e-books, which collectively accounted for $3 billion, or also about a fifth, of all trade publishing revenue, up 44.2% from 2011
A twitter search on #ebooks and #libraries has brought up a number of new and interesting posts relating to ebook advocacy:
OverDrive and Sourcebooks are preparing to launch an innovative and ambitious pilot program whose goal is to clearly demonstrate the impact library ebook lending has on book sales and author recognition.
