E-Book Program Development Study: Quarterly Report December 1, 2013 – February 28, 2014

The central objective of the third quarter was to collect data sets that will inform e-book collection development policies relating to preferred business models and resource allocation. Much of this work centered on a large-scale cost analysis project. Using the research framework established during the second quarter of the study, quantitative data was collected to document how funds are allocated, examine usage rates, and develop a methodology for future evaluation. At the same time, a new and innovative methodology was developed to gather information about e-book use across disciplines. The method relies on a qualitative analysis of e-book search terms harvested by Google Analytics and e-book titles from COUNTER e-book usage reports

E-Book Program Development Study: Annual Report (June 1, 2013 - May 31, 2014)

This report summarizes the preliminary results of the first year of the E-Book Program Development Study. The objective of the first year was to document the e-book landscape at Columbia University (CU) and understand how current challenges fit into the larger context of collection development within the academic community. The second objective was to develop sustainable methodologies that can be used across CU to evaluate e-book holdings in a standardized fashion. The work completed over the past year provides a context for study results and suggests how e-book collection aligns with CU's overarching mission to support research, teaching, and learning activities across campus

E-Book Program Development Study: Results and Recommendations

This document contains the final results and recommendations from the E-Book Program Development Study, an ambitions two year assessment project aimed at gathering essential data to drive policies and best practices related to e-book collections and services at Columbia University Libraries (CUL). Findings support CUL's mission to support research, teaching, and learning initiatives across campus. They also create a bridge between the current information landscape and CUL's vision for the future of e-book programs and services

Scholarly E-Book Use across Disciplines: Content Analysis of Usage Reports and Search Terms

Data collected through COUNTER usage statistics and the LibQUAL+ service quality assessment survey tell us that faculty and students value access to the growing e-book collection at Columbia University Libraries (CUL). While the aggregate results indicate that e-book use continues to increase, usage rates are not uniform across disciplines. Given the highly diverse research needs of the university community, CUL is keen to understand scholarly e-book usage in various disciplines. In this study, we sought an innovative research method to understand e-book usage. This method utilizes data from two sources: readers’ e-book search terms harvested by Google Analytics; and requested e-book titles provided by the COUNTER e-book usage reports. The data was analyzed using NVivo, a qualitative analysis software, to examine popular scholarly e-book topics and the correlation between search and delivery. This paper is scheduled for publication in the 2014 CUNY Assessment Conference Proceedings

The Buck Stops Here: Assessing the Value of E-Book Subscriptions at the Columbia University Libraries

Over the past four years Columbia University Libraries (CUL) has seen exponential growth in electronic book (e‐book) purchasing. These purchases have not only increased the depth and breadth of the collection, but they have also created new opportunities for remote learning and instant information access. In turn, this new push for purchasing electronic has created new demands in assessment to understand the true benefit of these resources, most notably in regards to annual e‐book subscriptions. In 2013, a new position aimed at developing an e‐book strategy for CUL was devised. Shortly thereafter, a position was created in the Science and Engineering Library Division (SEL) that focused on assessment. These two positions fall in line with CUL’s mission to support research and learning through evidence based decision making. This paper explains an assessment methodology used within the library system at CUL to evaluate the costbenefit of e‐book subscriptions. By appraising several databases, we were able to analyze cost and usage to determine the actual value of these resources. The findings yielded a savings of approximately $60,000 for the 2015 fiscal year. This is an ongoing initiative that will help us document the e‐book landscape and build data sets that will inform collection development decisions

The Buck Stops Here: Assessing Ebook Subscriptions at Columbia University Libraries

This paper builds on the ideas presented in The Future Landscape of E-Book Programs at Columbia University Libraries (Charleston Conference 2013, poster session). The objective is to describe an assessment methodology used at Columbia University Libraries which evaluated the cost-benefit of subscribed e-book collections. By appraising several databases, we were able to analyze cost and usage to determine the actual value of these resources. This work involved conducting cost and overlap analyses as well as examining usage data which identified common usage trends. The method was applied on two separate occasions in the Collection Development department and the Science and Engineering Division Libraries between January and May of 2014. The outcomes of this study yielded a savings of approximately $60,000 for the 2015 fiscal year. Since we worked with subscription packages, the savings will be ongoing and allowed us to evaluate how to allocate resources to best support the needs of the user community. In both cases, we spoke to the vendor and found opportunities for price negotiation and discussions related to platform performance

E-Book Program Development Study: Quarterly Report September 1 – November 30, 2013

The results of the second quarter provide an assessment framework that informs all data collection and analysis activities related to the E-Book Program Development Study. Together, the selected research methods will create a body of quantitative and qualitative data that documents the e-book landscape at CUL and serves as a baseline for future evaluation. The data will also suggest what e-book services the Libraries’ can reasonably provide to stakeholders, and target areas where CUL can provide leadership in the academic community through advocacy

Preservation Pending: The Future of E-book Access in the Digital Age

For a very long time human knowledge has been recorded on print media and passed down, or preserved, for future generations. Since the latter half of the Twentieth Century however this human knowledge has been increasingly recorded in digital media. Whether we will be as successful as our predecessors at preserving human knowledge will depend on the steps we take now to identify and address the risks and threats when knowledge is stored in digital form. This report will focus specifically on e-books as a subset of all digital media. In some respects we are lucky in that the conversation surrounding the risks and threats to journal literature as it passed from print to digital has been going on for more than two decades, and some promising models and ideas have emerged. On the other hand e-books present problems that differ from those on the journal side and which will need to be addressed from scratch, as it were, with no prior models on which to build. Nor will this report provide ready answers. Rather, by bringing the conversation here we are throwing down the gauntlet and challenging all members of the information ecosystem to think seriously about the issues and to take the steps necessary to work toward a solution that is of mutual benefit to us all

E-Book Program Development Study: Quarterly Report June 1 – August 31, 2013

The E-Book Program Development Study is an ambitious assessment project aimed at gathering essential data to drive the development of policies related to e-book development programs. The results will provide a set of recommendations and strategies for internal and external stakeholders as they collaborate on the implementation of e-book initiatives. The objective of the first quarter was to review the e-book landscape at Columbia University Libraries and understand how needs and challenges across campus fit into the larger context of e-book management and collection development within the academic community

Text Analysis of Search Terms and Requested Titles to Understand E-book Use Across Disciplines

Over the past decade, electronic books (e-books) have become increasingly popular in the academic community. In response to this demand, Columbia University Libraries/Information Services (CUL/IS) provides access to over two million e-books that support research, teaching, and learning activities across campus and within the wider scholarly community. While the aggregate results indicate that e-book use continues to increase, usage rates are not uniform across disciplines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that while e-book use has grown in the sciences and social sciences, scholars in the arts and humanities rely heavily on print books. The aim of this project is to understand scholarly e-book usage across different disciplines given the highly diverse research needs of the university community