NMMU LIS SEMINAR ON E-BOOKS & OTHER E-RESOURCES, ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 11 SEPTEMBER 2012
TITLE: EVOLUTION OF E- BOOKS AND INTERLIBRARY LOANS: WHAT FOR NMMU?
PRESENTER: Z.N. Makrwede Deputy Director: Circulation Services NMMU LIS
Format of the presentation Introduction E-books E-book lending options NMMU, moving forward Conclusion
Introduction Current Interlibrary Loan (ILL)scenario The ILL landscape change ILL used as a form of access for library users in cases where the library does not hold the library materials in its collection (traditional ILL model) Adoption of e-resources by libraries and their users Where does the e-book fit in the traditional ILL model?
E-books They are more like the best of things and the worst of things. They can be delivered across space and in ways that print books cannot. The downsize? E-books from most publishers and vendors take away some of the rights that inhere in print books (Harris, 2009). E-books are about fast and easy access to information (Garrod, 2003). E-book format brings many advantages to scholarly research such as text searching, the ability to retrieve specific information and the convenience of immediate online access wherever the user is (Levine-Clark, 2006).
Continued Academic libraries add electronic monographs (e-books) to their collections in increasing numbers. They are frequently losing the ability to lend this portion of their collections via ILL due to licensing restrictions. Most books are licensed rather than sold to libraries, and it is common for publishers and vendors to prohibit in their license agreements the use of e-books to fulfill ILL requests, believing that allowing ILL in this format would facilitate unlimited sharing of the digital copy and discourage libraries from purchasing their own copies, negatively impacting revenue. The acquisition and adoption of online resources and systems have dramatically changed the nature of ILL request over the last 10 years (Wicht, 2011). Publishers and aggregators licences and digital rights management have virtually closed off traditional short-term lower cost access models such as ILL (Falk, 2001).
Continued Libraries are within their rights to lend (physical materials to other libraries/library systems. E-books do not enjoy the same ILL rights (Harris, 2009) E-book licensing models do not preserve the traditional ILL model because the owner or licensee cannot offer the e-book to another institution without the borrower either having their license to use the e-book/outright owning the book (Gee, 2007) E-books theoretically enable libraries to improve turnaround times for book delivery and to offer the convenience of the desktop uploading, as has been the case for non-returnables. The lending of e-books is hampered by restrictions in e-book licenses that prohibit interlending (Garrod, 2004)
E-book lending options (a) Short-term lending (short term purchase) Short term purchase is a good choice when no lender can be found for a book request and where the book is available in e-book format. It is also ideal when fast access to content is desired and when a library does not want to purchase the item for its collection. ILL staff purchase short term access to the e-book in order to fill the request. The cost is generally comparable to that of the print book ILL transaction (Wicht, 2011) Examples: E-Brary, MyILibrary, E-book division of Ebscohost (b) Purchase on demand With a purchase on demand model libraries obtain materials for which there is demonstrated need and at the time need is demonstrated. In a climate of uncertain and often shrinking budgets for materials and especially for monographs a dynamic just approach to collection development makes a great deal of sense (Howard, 2010) Collaboration between ILL and acquisition staff
Continued (c) Consortium level purchasing Consortial e-book purchasing has played a major role in gaining broader access to e-books for libraries and its users. Purchasing as group generally enables the participating libraries to get a better price and/or more content than they would when purchasing on their own. With the increased purchasing power of a consortium comes increased negotiating power permitting libraries to negotiate ILL priviledges or shared access across the consortium (Garrod, 2004) The library consortia have to define a specific policy based on user needs content analysis and the development of a consortium platform.
NMMU: Moving forward Standard operational procedures (who is to do what) Technological requirements Training needs Marketing, scholarly e-books Legalities with regards to ILL Regulatory role of the library in promoting, harnessing and embracing technology Decisions on the acquisition of e-books and relevant circulation models/ e-book loan models E-books development policies/business model for the acquisition of e-books Better licensing rights and license options Subscriptions to platforms/ e-book aggregators E-book readers New resource sharing models for e-books
Conclusion Move to e-book, major change Redefining services to better serve evolving user needs Responsive and satisfying service to users Unique circumstances of the library to be taken into consideration/pros & cons
Thank You