Analysis of E-book Use: The Case of ebrary Umut Al, İrem Soydal & Yaşar Tonta {umutal, soydal, tonta}@hacettepe.edu.tr - 1
Outline Introduction to E-books Usage analysis studies Methodology Findings Conclusion Recommendations Further research - 2
Why E-books? Interest in the use of electronic media is growing Users tend to get access information online/full-text Libraries reserve much larger budgets to e- sources E-books are becoming an important part of the library collection - 3
Advantages of E-books Adjustable font size and font face Easy access to more content Multimedia display capabilities No cost for paper, ink, binding, wrapping, postage, or transport No physical space requirements Searchability within a book - 4
Usage Analysis Studies Despite the advantages of e-books, some studies show that their usage can be very low Unaware of the existence of e-books Unfriendly user interfaces or usability problems Some studies show that e-books are used more often than print counterparts Electronic world Effect of digital natives - 5
Methodology Hacettepe University Libraries Nearly half a million e-book sections Data cover four-year period (2006-2009) Library of Congress Classification System ebrary database examined Largest e-book collection (more than 45,000 e- book titles) Contains several disciplines COUNTER-compliant use statistics - 6
COUNTER-Compliant ebrary Report Interface..an international initiative to set practical and world wide standards for the recording and reporting of vendor generated usage statistics in a consistent and compatible way Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Information Resources - 7
Research Questions Which e-books are requested most frequently from the ebrary collection? What are the subjects of the most frequently requested e-books? Does the usage of e-books differ across the subjects? Does the usage of e-books change by year? - 8
Findings - 9
The Distribution of Books which has LC Classes in ebrary LC Class Subject N % A General works 40 0.1 B Philosophy, psychology, religion 3,667 8.4 C Auxiliary sciences of history 161 0.4 D History 2,319 5.3 E American history 1,101 2.5 F American history 614 1.4 G Geography, anthropology, recreation 1,142 2.6 H Social sciences 10,021 23.1 J Political science 1,639 3.8 K Law 1,195 2.8 L Education 1,727 4.0 M Music 659 1.5 N Fine arts 405 0.9 P Language and literature 5,393 12.4 Q Science 4,962 11.4 R Medicine 3,675 8.5 S Agriculture 557 1.3 T Technology 3,391 7.8 U Military science 467 1.1 V Naval science 71 0.2 Z Library science 216 0.5 Total 43,422 100.0-10
Distribution of Requested and Unrequested Books (2006-2009) - 11
# of Unique E-books Used and # of Sections Requested - 12
Section Requests for LC Classes LC Class # of books # of requested books (a) % Total section requests (b) b/a A 40 14 35.0 269 19.2 B 3667 866 23.6 36,051 41.6 C 161 53 32.9 998 18.8 D 2319 507 21.9 17,297 34.1 E 1101 123 11.2 3,288 26.7 F 614 52 8.5 684 13.2 G 1142 324 28.4 11,296 34.9 H 10,021 2,271 22.7 72,162 31.8 J 1639 379 23.1 10,844 28.6 K 1195 151 12.6 2,161 14.3 L 1727 612 35.4 24,383 39.8 M 659 147 22.3 3,581 24.4 N 405 105 25.9 3,159 30.1 P 5393 1,819 33.7 70,615 38.8 Q 4962 1,472 29.7 59,032 40.1 R 3675 1,461 39.8 78,157 53.5 S 557 110 19.7 3,841 34.9 T 3391 744 21.9 28,752 38.6 U 467 49 10.5 985 20.1 V 71 8 11.3 90 11.3 Z 216 75 34.7 1404 18.7 Total/Average 43,422 11,342 26.1 429,049 37.8-13
Usage of E-books in ebrary Database 10% of books that are requested, satisfies 63% of the total requests - 14
Usage of E-books in ebrary for P Class - 15
Number of Books Satisfying Demand LC Class 33% 50% 67% 100% # of books A 5 7 10 14 40 B 20 44 95 866 3,667 C 5 8 12 53 161 D 16 36 68 507 2,319 E 3 8 17 123 1101 F 4 7 12 52 614 G 9 19 37 324 1,142 H 60 142 287 2,271 10,021 J 10 22 47 379 1,639 K 8 16 30 151 1,195 L 21 49 97 612 1,727 M 48 76 102 147 659 N 3 8 20 105 405 P 30 84 197 1,819 5,393 Q 34 81 182 1,472 4,962 R 48 105 197 1,461 3,675 S 3 6 11 110 557 T 17 38 81 744 3,391 U 2 2 5 49 467 V 3 5 6 8 71 Z 5 12 20 75 216-16
The Most Frequently Used 20 Books Book LC Class N International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors* T 2,194 5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations: Calculus Q 2,147 Beginner's Guide to Structural Equation Modeling* Q 1,436 Beginning Programming Q 1,411 Character Strengths and Virtues : A Handbook and Classification B 1,372 Routledge Critical Dictionary of Semiotics and Linguistics P 1,346 Psychology of Humor : A Reference Guide & Annotated Bibliography P 1,308 On That Point! An Introduction to Parliamentary Debate P 1,246 Harrison's Manual of Medicine (16th Edition) R 1,224 Jacques Derrida and the Humanities : A Critical Reader B 1,202 Speaking, Listening and Understanding : Debate for Non-Native English Speakers P 1,186 Talking Gender and Sexuality P 1,170 Routledge Reader in Politics and Performance J 1,169 Speech Acts in Literature P 1,164 Provocations to Reading : J. Hillis Miller and the Democracy to Come P 1,150 Argument and Audience P 1,106 Advanced Mathematical Thinking Q 1,094 Theoretical Aspects of Heterogeneous Catalysis Q 1,080 Discourse P 1,067 SPSS for Intermediate Statistics : Use and Interpretation* H 1,032 Total 26,104-17
Yearly Distributions of Section Requests LC Class 2006 2007 2008 2009 total A 34 33 152 50 269 B 7,422 9,151 10,047 9,431 36,051 C 219 201 373 205 998 D 4,374 3,204 3,548 6,171 17,297 E 1,045 546 579 1,118 3288 F 56 113 320 195 684 G 1,595 3,382 4,330 1,989 11,296 H 11,843 18,047 22,258 20,014 72,162 J 1,175 2,647 3,850 3,172 10,844 K 480 258 497 926 2,161 L 7,313 5,462 7,695 3,913 24,383 M 497 341 1,885 858 3,581 N 553 314 1,696 596 3,159 P 12,063 15,020 22,058 21,474 70,615 Q 21,613 15,657 12,234 9,528 59,032 R 21,043 23,346 20,999 12,769 78,157 S 861 690 1,945 345 3,841 T 2,917 13,036 7,359 5,440 28,752 U 633 196 114 42 985 V 25 30 20 15 90 Z 497 265 125 517 1,404 Total 96,258 111,939 122,084 98,768 429,049-18
Conclusion The number of sections requested has been decreasing in recent years The use of e-books under different LC subject classes differs tremendously The use of e-books exhibits a Bradfordian distribution - 19
Recommendations Negotiating deals with e-book suppliers for license agreements Addition to usage data, feedback should be gathered from users through questionnaires and interviews The percentage of non-used e-book titles should be figured into the license renewal terms to get discounts or additional titles - 20
Further Research Cost-benefit analysis of e-book use Comparison of e-book use in different libraries Impact on library consortia - 21
Analysis of E-book Use: The Case of ebrary Umut Al, İrem Soydal & Yaşar Tonta {umutal, soydal, tonta}@hacettepe.edu.tr - 22