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E-books at Oxford

Ollie Bridle October 2012. E-books at Oxford. Introduction. About the library. E-books at Oxford University. E-books – a view from the sciences. E-book reader leading at the Radcliffe Science Library. The Radcliffe Science Library. University’s main Science Library

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E-books at Oxford

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  1. Ollie Bridle October 2012 E-books at Oxford

  2. Introduction • About the library. • E-books at Oxford University. • E-books – a view from the sciences. • E-book reader leading at the Radcliffe Science Library.

  3. The Radcliffe Science Library • University’s main Science Library • Reference and lending collection. • Accessible to every full member of the University.

  4. What e-books we have • A variety of different sources – • Aggregators - EBL (Electronic Book Library) & EBSCO Host • Subject specific collections (EEBO – Early English Books Online) • Reference Suites (Oxford Reference) • One-off titles (Encyclopaedia of Materials : Science & Technology) • Google Books • Publically available resources (Project Gutenberg)

  5. How readers find them • Mainly through SOLO. • Displays print and electronic books. • Links to Google digitised books. • Not all individual e-book titles discoverable. • OxLIP+ • Groups resources by subject. • User education required. • Highlighting by Librarians in LibGuides and training.

  6. On SOLO

  7. Advantages • 24/7 instant access & convenience • Speed of ordering • Opportunities for patron driven ordering • Discoverability in our catalogue • Serve the need for high demand titles • Savings on shelf space • The pages don’t fall out!

  8. Disadvantages • Variations in interfaces • Discoverability through SOLO • Different allowances • Online/offline access • Limited selection • Reading off a screen

  9. Geography & Earth Sciences • Having e-versions available can be especially helpful for publishers who don’t deposit. (e.g. Springer) • Speed of access through EBL is a great feature. • Has been very useful for people out of Oxford and on geography field trips. • Availability at about 30% of wanted material.

  10. Pre-Clinical Medicine • Not great subject coverage. • Not perceived as good for science as humanities. • Core text-books unavailable or prohibitively expensive. • Useful titles - Field’s Virology & ELS. • Not much reader reaction beyond technical queries. • Difficult to keep up with developments in e-books. • More complex ordering. • Need for a centralised list of all e-books.

  11. E-Readers at the RSL • Kindle from Amazon • Works with proprietary Amazon e-book format. • Two loaned since 2009. • Recently purchased a small number of science titles. • Sony E-reader • Touch screen. • Works with a variety of e-book formats (e.g. ePub). • 1 loaned since 2009.

  12. How lending works • E-readers are catalogued on ALEPH and can be held. • Content preloaded on to Kindles. Readers not allowed to delete or add content. • Reader signs a loan agreement. • Checkout as a book. • 7 day loan. • DRM prevents reader copying content.

  13. User feedback • Loans • Kindle 1 - 47 • Kindle 2 – 77 • Sony - 51 • Online Survey • But nobody responds to our recent version! • Need to incentivise. • Anecdotally • People want to try the technology. • People want to read PDF files.

  14. Value for money? • Maybe not for the library! • There is PD content but depends if its useful for your reader’s subject areas. • Initial investment in devices. • No compatibility with other Oxford E-books. • Books often no cheaper than paper. • Dispute over libraries right to lend. (1 book, 1 device, 1 reader) • Usage rules may change at any time at Amazon’s whim.

  15. Kindle Pros and Cons.

  16. Enter the tablet • Ultra portable computers. • iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows. • Can be used to access e-books, e-journals and databases. • Future all-in-one device? • Drawbacks compared to Kindle • Screen display technology. • Battery life. • Recent launch of Kyobo reader.

  17. Further reading • E-readers and libraries • ‘The portable e-book: issues with e-book reading devices in the library’ John Rodzvilla (2009) Serials, vol. 22(3) S6-S10 • Mixed Answers to "Is It OK for a Library To Lend a Kindle?“ – Library Journal. (04/07/2009) http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6649814.html • iPads in libraries • ‘Setting up a library iPad program : Guidelines for success.’ Sara Thompson (2011) College & Research Libraries, News vol. 72 (4) 212-236

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