Tag: e-books

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 3 – Managing E-Books

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Welcome to the third post in my series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. In our previous post, we navigated the high-level landscape of e-book procurement—exploring how Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA), DDA, and big-brand packages allow us to scale our collections. We looked at the “how” and the “where” of getting content into our digital ecosystem.

Here is a breakdown of the series so far:

As any seasoned librarian knows, the work doesn’t end when the invoice is cleared and the license is signed. In many ways, that is where the real challenge begins. Managing an e-book collection is a continuous lifecycle of maintenance, troubleshooting, and advocacy. It’s about ensuring that the thousands of pounds we spend actually translate into a seamless, accessible experience for our students.

Welcome to Part 3 – Managing E-Books

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Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 2 – Schemes and Packages.

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Welcome to the second post in my series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Over the coming weeks, I will be pulling back the curtain on the digital supply chain to explore methods of purchase, supplier relationships, and what happens next. Today we are looking at Schemes and Packages

Here is a breakdown of the series so far:

In our previous post, we looked at the foundational elements of e-book procurement: the “who” (suppliers) and the “how” (licences). We explored the delicate balance of choosing between a 3-user licence and a credit model, and the importance of having a robust local selection policy.

However, title-by-title purchasing is only one piece of the puzzle. To build a scalable, responsive collection, we have to look beyond individual transactions. Suppliers frequently sell using models that move away from the one book, one price logic. Welcome to Part 2 – Schemes and Packages.

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Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 1 – Purchasing E-Books.

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In the ever-evolving landscape of academic library collections, the shift toward digital has often been framed as a straightforward evolution, a simple migration from shelf to screen. Yet, as any Acquisitions Librarian can tell you, the reality of building a digital collection is a complex dance of licensing, logistics, and strategic negotiation. While our patrons see the convenience of a click, we navigate a labyrinth of platforms, permissions, and pricing models behind the scenes.

Welcome to the first post in my new series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Over the coming weeks, I will be pulling back the curtain on the digital supply chain to explore methods of purchase, supplier relationships, and what happens next

My plan is to cover the following elements:

Image by Michael Haderer from Pixabay

Purchasing E-Books

1 – Supplier Type: Aggregators

Aggregators—such as ProQuest (Ebook Central), EBSCO, and VLeBooks—act as the massive department stores of the library world. They host content from thousands of different publishers on a single, unified platform, providing a centralized hub for discovery and management.

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5 Ways A Well-Designed Controlled Digital Lending Scheme (CDL) Can Improve Your Academic Library

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If you’ve spent any time in a university library lately, you’ll know we’re living in a bit of a divided era. On one hand, we’ve got these magnificent, sometimes centuries old, print collections that user communities love and value (and honestly, who can blame them? There’s nothing like the smell of an old book). On the other, we’re battling a digital marketplace that feels increasingly like a wild west of restrictive licenses, rising costs, and content that can vanish at the whim of a platform update.

Enter Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)

While the legal headlines have been dominated by the high drama Hachette v. Internet Archive case in the US, a situation that has certainly set the cat among the pigeons, the UK conversation is much more grounded. We aren’t looking to create a “digital library of Alexandria” overnight, we’re looking for sensible ways to manage the resources we already pay for. As has been repeatedly highlighted in the SCONUL landscape review (and followup work) by the always excellent Jane Secker and Chris Morrison, CDL isn’t a radical hack, it’s a strategic way to bridge the gap between our physical past and our digital future.

Here are five ways a well-constructed CDL scheme can transform the academic library landscape in the UK.

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5 Reasons OERs Could Unlock Opportunities for UK Academic Libraries

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Adopt – Adapt – Create

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are freely accessible, openly licensed instructional materials, from full courses and textbooks to videos and images. They can be used, adapted, and shared by anyone. These resources embody the principles of openness and reuse, moving beyond the often restrictive models of traditional publishing.

While OER adoption is widespread in parts of North America and other regions, its integration into core teaching practice across the UK higher education landscape is still nascent. This early stage means that most institutions have significant untapped potential to leverage OER. For UK academic libraries, the traditional custodians of scholarly content, this presents a compelling opportunity to be at the forefront of an innovative movement.

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Print Books vs E-Books: 5 reasons why print books persist in the digital age

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The digital age has fundamentally transformed the academic library, with the acquisition of e-books and online resources becoming the dominant force in collection development. The sheer volume, ease of remote access, and discoverability of electronic resources have undeniably reshaped scholarly research. To illustrate this seismic shift, consider the purchasing data for one-off resources at the University of York , where electronic resources have consistently commanded 70-80% of the total budget in recent years

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Do Audiobooks Count as Reading? (Spoiler: YES!)

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I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the Great Audiobook Debate. It sounds like a wrestling match in the book club, and honestly, it sometimes feels like one. You know the scene: you’re excited to discuss a new book, and you mention, “Oh, I listened to the audiobook,” only to have someone reply, “So, you didn’t actually read it?” Cue the eye-roll.

It’s an exhausting, circular argument, as old as audiobooks themselves and it’s one of those knotty problems that book lovers and library folks get stuck on.

It’s not as simple as “this one is good” and “this one is bad.” But, since you’re here, my professional opinion is a resounding YES, and you can tell them that a Librarian told you so.

Now, before anyone grabs their pitchforks (or their physical copies of War and Peace), let’s unpack this.

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5 Inconvenient Facts All Librarians Should Know About E-Books

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, the promise of the digital library became clearer than ever. As physical doors closed, e-books offered a vital lifeline, foregrounding the incredible potential of on-demand access to information and culture. Yet this moment of digital promise also cast a harsh light on the dysfunctional infrastructure, predatory business models, and outdated legal frameworks that govern the lending of digital content.

For librarians on the front lines, the digital dream often clashes with a difficult daily reality. While lending a physical book is a straightforward and established process, licensing a digital one is complex, expensive, and often deeply frustrating. This has ignited a “palpable and widespread dissatisfaction” among library professionals who see a growing disconnect between their public mission and the commercial constraints of the e-book market.

This article uncovers five of the most impactful and often counter-intuitive realities that shape the world of e-lending today, revealing the hidden complexities that exist just beyond the reader’s click.

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5 Facts All Librarians Should Know About Interlibrary Loans

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The UKSG Insights article ‘Interlibrary loans, subscriptions and copyright in the UK academic library sector’ by my White Rose comrade, from University of Sheffield, Andrew Johnson, is an excellent summary of the current ILL situation, considering legal exceptions and some of the legislative grey areas that exist within the ecosystem.

I would encourage everyone to read it, as an educational and insightful explainer of complicated issues. I would also encourage anyone interested in expanding knowledge in this sphere of Librarianship to use ‘Exceptions for Libraries’ by renowned fonts of ILL knowledge Chris Morrison and Jane Secker as a good practical starting point.

Regarding Interlending, ILL, Interlibrary Loans, or whatever nomenclature you prefer to use, here are 5 facts that all Librarians should know…

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Pragmatic Principles

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It’s been a tough old year. Ditching out of 7 R&P deals at once naturally brings with it a whole host of stressful situations to navigate. Through all of this, an absolutely excellent piece of work (that I am very proud we achieved) underpinned a huge amount of our strategic thinking and decision making.

Prior to any budget cuts, the decision had already been made that we in the Library should work with external colleagues to co-create a set of Library Collections Principles

When we set out on this journey, the goal was to create these principles in a way that contained a pragmatic understanding of the realities of collection acquisition, whilst also aligning closely with our University values, as well as speaking to the needs of our wider community.

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