Electronic Books in Public Libraries: A Feasibility Study for Developing Usage Models for Web-Based and Hardware-Based Electronic Books

Abstract

Electronic books in public libraries: a feasibility study for developing usage models for Web-based and hardware-based electronic books Final Report, August 2004 The primary project contacts are: James Dearnley J.A.Dearnley@lboro.ac.uk Linda Berube Linda.berube@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Martin Palmer martin.palmer@essexcc.gov.ukThe project website can be found at:http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/dis/disresearch/e-booksinpublib/index.html 1 AcknowledgementsMany individuals have been helpful to us during the design and implementation of this research. We particularly wish to thank Frances Hendrix for her ongoing interest in the project, and also Dr Jim Parker for his friendly advice. The advisory board members gave us practical and important advice during the course of the research, and we are particularly indebted to Ian Sutton (Blackburn with Darwen libraries) for his willingness to share information on the Total-IT-y programme. Penny Garrod also deserves thanks for publicising our research widely in her ongoing work at UKOLN.We also wish to offer special thanks to Claudia Weissman and Steve Potash at OverDrive for their enthusiasm and help in setting up and maintaining the OverDrive collection. Our thanks also go to Coutts (ebrary's agent in the UK), for all their help during the last year.Finally, our thanks go to all the librarians at Essex who took part in this research for their help and suggestions. Specifically, this report describes and analyses a range of findings from the project for the period from January to June 2004, during which time both hand-held and webbased collections were implemented and made available to the public. Moreover, it offers guidelines to other public library authorities considering the adoption of ebook collections and mobile technology. Because Essex has adopted the e-book collections procured during the project as a sustained service, the Project Team will continue to gather data and information on the web-based ebook collections provided by OverDrive and ebrary. We will publish additional findings and case studies in a supplement in early 2005. ContextIn the UK, public library provision of ebook software and hardware devices has not been widespread, although there has been a degree of interest and experimentation in ebook collection development. The reasons for relatively low uptake of ebooks in the UK are significant. Commercial ebook collections are available in the UK, but there has been a distinct hesitation connected to the lack of appropriate models through which to introduce them effectively to the public. Concerns include:lack of content and collection development of specific UK-interest titles ; network security; expense (e.g. cost of introducing ebook collections versus maintaining and developing existing pbook collections); licensing and stock supply models; lack of content and subtstantive ebook collections; maintenance (e.g keeping iPAQ devices functional); and usability (e.g. offering a service which people find useful and as enjoyable as reading from pbooks).C...

Digital Audio Collections

“…Still, restrictions on e-books limit the potential benefits of the technology making it often a wiser decision for a library to buy print books. In his efforts to introduce e-books into the Essex Public Libraries, James Dearnley (2004) outlined several problems. In developing this project, he explored single e-book purchases and subscriptions to e-book vendors, ultimately finding that purchasing e-book packages was much more practical because of the number of books that could be accessed and less severe DRM restrictions (2004).…”

“…Still, as Dearnley learned, the content these vendors offer is almost as restrictive as single titles. Between NetLibrary, ebrary and OverDrive, only OverDrive did not allow more than one patron to access a book at the same time, however it is the only one of the three that allows a borrower to put an e-book on a portable device (Dearnley et al, 2004;NetLibrary, 2007). This is strange, as the policy snubs people who use e-readers, which is a large part of the core e-book audience.…”

“…Attempts to incorporate e-book readers have been unsuccessful, partly because of the expense of the device but also because of the difficulty in maintaining electronic devices and a lack of interest. In fact many programs, after implementation, do not get developed any further (Dearnley et al, 2004;Craig, 2003). There are also difficulties stemming from e-book publishers' use of different formats for their books, requiring different readers, which as mentioned earlier may not change with the development of the IDPF's new authoring standard.…”

“…There are also difficulties stemming from e-book publishers' use of different formats for their books, requiring different readers, which as mentioned earlier may not change with the development of the IDPF's new authoring standard. This has limited what content can be read using each reading device, or on a library's or patron's computer (Dearnley et al, 2004); in general it makes managing collections difficult. Strangely, e-book vendors do not see it to be a problem, saying that to them it is not a major concern (Grogg & Ashmore, 2005).…”

“…Most digital music vendors allow use on portable devices, including Sony, iTunes, and Napster, although only the ones enabled with that vendor's particular DRM (George & Chandak, 2006). As previously mentioned, some ebook vendors used by libraries don't allow e-books to be used on portable devices, but these music vendors allow purchased songs to be used on at least three computers each and unlimited portable devices (Dearnley et al, 2004;NetLibrary, 2007;George & Chandak, 2006). Although both instances are from different circumstances, one referring to use in a library and the other sale to the public, there is still a stark difference between the restrictiveness of music vendors and that of e-book vendors.…”