Collection Building Through Patrons: Caltech Library's Kindle Program

McCaslin, David

doi:10.1080/01462679.2013.792308

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Students seem to want to check out e-book devices from their schools (Foasberg, 2011), and faculty are incorporating them into coursework (de Oliveira, 2012). Texas A&M University (Goodwin, Shurtz, Gonzalez, & Clark, 2011), the University of Texas at San Antonio (Kemp, Lutz, & Nurnberger, 2012), Penn State University (Behler, & Lush, 2011), and the California Institute of Technology (McCaslin, 2013) have all studied the circulation of e-readers, with similar results. Students are interested in the devices and are happy the library is providing them, but the e-readers need to improve in ease of use, availability of content, and longer checkout times.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 59%

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Brannon

Sears

2014

Technical Services Quarterly

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The University of North Texas Libraries received a grant for e-book readers for students purchasing digital textbooks. The grant provided a way to access electronic information in the form of digital textbooks to those who wish to use them but could not afford to purchase ereaders. The university bookstore offers digital textbooks, but not many students have used them. Through administering the grant the authors learned how to implement and market the e-reader service and how students felt about the technology. Evaluation methodology included a pre-and post-test outcomes-based survey for students using the technology. Future considerations are also noted. Keywords: e-readers, e-textbooks, academic library, University of North Texas, e-booksThe University of North Texas (UNT) is a 4-year public university located in Denton, a city of approximately 117,000 people. UNT is the fourth largest university in Texas and among the 30 largest in the United States. The total student enrollment for 2012-2013 was 35,778, with the average age of undergraduates being 22.5 and 31.7 for graduate students (UNT, 2013). The UNT Libraries is the most used student service on campus, with more than 1.5 million in-person visitors during 2013. Statistics show that during the 2012-2013 academic year, over 54,000 laptops were checked out by students. UNT Libraries recently updated their collection-development policy to reflect a preference for e-books when available. The campus is catering more and more to distance-education students and witnessing an increase in technology use on campus as well.Although continually being asked for textbooks by students using our libraries, many academic library (and public library, for that matter) collection-development policies purposefully eliminate the provision of textbooks to their communities. Unfortunately, the cost is prohibitive, as is dedicating shelving space for housing such an extensive collection. It is also hard to maintain the constant addition of new editions. One of our only methods of provision is to ask professors to donate a copy to the reserves shelf.The UNT bookstore provides a digital textbook option for over 340 titles. These are available for purchase or rental. However, this service has not been used by many students. In 2012, only 428 digital textbooks were purchased by students. In pondering this low usage rate, the researchers wondered whether or not students had access to their own personal e-book readers, which would allow access to the materials. The low usage of these materials could be a result of multiple factors: preference for print over electronic, cost-prohibition, lack of access to the necessary technology, or other reasons. Being interested in electronic access to information, the researchers wanted to acknowledge the need for textbook provision and help those who do not have the means to purchase a personal reader. Through

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 59%

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Brannon

Sears

2014

Technical Services Quarterly

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“…Using a Kindle (questions 3,5,6,8,9) Participants were asked multiple questions about their overall experience using a Kindle. They were asked to measure the ease of Kindle use on a scale of 1 (Very difficult to use) to 5 (Very easy to use).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing an e‐reader lending program: from pilot to mainstream service

Goodwin

Shurtz²,

Gonzalez³

et al. 2012

Library Review

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess user preferences and perceptions of Texas A&M University Libraries' Kindle e-book reader lending program, to determine if current lending practices and procedures adequately satisfy user needs. Design/methodology/approach -An online survey was administered to library patrons who participated in the first full semester of the e-reader lending program. Of the 63 individuals who borrowed a Kindle, 52 answered the 13-question survey designed to elicit their feedback about their experiences borrowing and subsequently using a Kindle to read their requested e-books. The format of the survey was varied, and included objective and short-answer questions. When possible, responses included a five-point Likert scale. Findings -Analysis of the survey results indicates overall interest and support for the Libraries' e-reader lending program. Participants mainly utilized Kindles to read popular titles, indicating that the lending program has found a niche within the Libraries' suite of media borrowing services to support leisure reading. Furthermore, from a collection development standpoint, the user-driven acquisition policy for Kindle titles has served as an extension and virtual enhancement of the popular bestseller print collection. Originality/value -This study is one of the first qualitative research reports on patron perceptions of an academic library e-reader lending program. This study is likely to be of practical interest to academic librarians who are in the process of developing similar lending programs.

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“…30 The library decided to circulate Kindles and provide patrons the authority to make $25 in e-book purchases. The Kindle was chosen because the library could associate up to six devices with the library's controlled account, thereby providing access to the same selection of e-books on all Kindles.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Literature of Acquisitions in Review, 2012–13

Dresselhaus¹

2016

LRTS

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The acquisitions literature published in 2012–13 shows a strong focus on nontraditional purchasing models, especially for electronic books (e-books). Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA) is one method that helps librarians cope with budget constraints that continue to plague library budgets. The expense of Big Deals has some libraries seeking more efficient alternatives such as Pay-Per-View or Evidence-Based Selection, however, many libraries are still reliant on the depth of coverage and perceived value of Big Deals. This review will cover these trends along with developments in Electronic Resources Management Systems (ERMSs), workflow efficiencies, and negotiation and licensing techniques.

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Collection Building Through Patrons: Caltech Library's Kindle Program

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Textbooks Weighing you Down? Check out our E-Readers

Textbooks Weighing you Down? Check out our E-Readers

Assessing an e‐reader lending program: from pilot to mainstream service

Literature of Acquisitions in Review, 2012–13

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