E-books at the University of Worcester: a Case Study.

Purpose To describe how an e-books project was set up at the University of Worcester Information and Learning Services with the aim to improve user access to the range of textbook materials available. Methodology/Approach Details of the background and circumstances of the University and the effect of these on the process undertaken by the e-books project group are described. The selection of an e-books provider and subsequent ordering, cataloguing and promotion activities are outlined. Findings This paper outlines the importance of tailoring the approach to e-books acquisition to the individual institution. It is found that authentication is a major issue and that for e-books packages to be successful, technical problems need to be kept to a minimum. Practical Implications Examples to assist others in setting up e-books provision are given. Technical difficulties and the range of titles available are both impediments to providing a full e-books service. Originality/ Value of the Paper E-books appear to provide greater access and flexibility to library users. Information and Learning Services fully intend to extend the range of e-books available to students. This paper looks at the practicalities of setting up and expanding such a service

The third voice: Do enhanced e-books enhance the benefits of shared story reading with preschoolers?

This study from which this paper draws examined the benefits of reading plain e-books (with parental instruction) compared to enhanced e-books (with limited parental direction) with 3- to 5-year-old children. Interaction was measured through parent-child verbal communication and eye contact. Engagement was measured through time spent visually focused on the story, and retention was measured through open-ended story event recall questions and multiple-choice story vocabulary questions. There were no differences between the enhanced and plain e-book conditions in children’s qualitative engagement with the story, or in the amounts of vocabulary or story events they retained. While enhanced e-books resulted in more time spent gazing at the device, parents and children were significantly more interactive when reading plain e-books. These findings suggest that while both plain and enhanced e-books are effective in aiding children’s retention of words and story events, plain e-books read by a caregiver are better at promoting meaningful conversation

Integrating E-Books into the Collection: Some Practical Considerations

About five years ago, when many believed digitization would become the panacea for libraries, some of our colleagues predicted that e-books would supplant print. For example, Andrew Pace wrote in 2000: “In five years e-book sales will match those of traditional print; in ten years, e-books will outsell print. There is little doubt left in my mind – e-books are among us and are here to stay.”1 While the proliferation of e-books has not matched the lofty predictions, the availability and usability of e-books is expanding each year. The options for reader and search platforms have increased, more titles are becoming available, prices have stabilized, and selection options have evolved. Library information infrastructure has likewise matured. Remote access by proxy authentication is more widespread than five years ago; some libraries are part of a wireless network enabling students to conduct distributed research; and online distance education is burgeoning. E-books are finally a reasonable option for supplementing the library collection. This paper will provide a short primer on cataloging and access for librarians who are planning to add e-books. While several platforms for e-books exist (such as a digital book on a CD-ROM or a digitized book that the library itself has created), this paper will limit the discussion to the prevalent platform model: a vendor-supplied, web-accessible content, such as NetLibary

E-books for Education students

Brief handout to help Education students find and use e-books from Dawsonera and MyiLibrary. Available both as Word and as PDF

E-books in academic libraries

This paper provides an analysis of the current state of the art in e-books, and attempts both to set the scene and provide reasons for their low uptake. Publishers, e-book providers and aggregators, academics and intermediaries (i.e., librarians and information specialists) should concentrate on raising awareness of what is available and what are the advantages related to e-books for specific categories of users. At the same time e-book suppliers should make e-books easier to find and purchase

What’s the use?: analysing student citations to provide new insights into e-book usage

This article reports on a small-scale user-focused piece of research carried out at the University of Sussex. In an attempt to better understand the impact of e-books on student outputs, citation analysis was performed on coursework to identify the e-books that had been used. Of the students surveyed, 11.6% cited an e-book in their work and, for this particular group, EBL was found to be the most popular collection. However, cross reference with the Library discovery tool and Google revealed that e-books available from the web were cited more than those from library collections. Interviews uncovered a spectrum of usage, leading to the conclusion that a comprehensive e-book strategy is required that makes students aware of their benefits, equips them with the skills needed for effective use and increases the number of e-books available

Perspectives for Electronic Books in the World Wide Web Age

While the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is steadily expanding, electronic books (e-books) remain a niche market. In this article, it is first postulated that specialized contents and device independence can make Web-based e-books compete with paper prints; and that adaptive features that can be implemented by client-side computing are relevant for e-books, while more complex forms of adaptation requiring server-side computations are not. Then, enhancements of the WWW standards (specifically of XML, XHTML, of the style-sheet languages CSS and XSL, and of the linking language XLink) are proposed for a better support of client-side adaptation and device independent content modeling. Finally, advanced browsing functionalities desirable for e-books as well as their implementation in the WWW context are described

E-textbooks: the Bournemouth University experience

E-books have been a crucial part of the Bournemouth University collection strategy for over a decade and library model e-books are our preferred method of providing suggested reading. Along with core collections and patron plans, we currently have over 194,000 e-books and these received over three million section requests in 2012–13. Despite our strategy to purchase in ‘e’ whenever it is available, we have always found it challenging to provide electronic access to core textbooks. Traditionally, publishers have been reluctant to make this type of material available as library model e-books: they are understandably concerned about the impact that this would have on print sales to students. We have recently been investigating the evolving publishing models that enable institutions to provide access to e-textbooks, and this article reports on our experiences

E-Books: Cognitive and Visual Effects

Sight is incredibly important to daily life. One critical use of this sense is reading, which allows people to communicate and learn new things if the reader is able to effectively comprehend what he or she has read. The proliferation of technology has resulted in much of our reading today being done through digital media. Information-presenting screens are found nearly everywhere, including within the education system. While E-books can offer some advantages, their purpose would not be served if they hindered understanding. Additionally, excessive use of technological devices can bring about symptoms of eyestrain. It was hypothesized that E-books are in fact neither helpful nor harmful in reading comprehension but may increase reading time. In the present study, 40 students at Butler University read a short story either on paper or on a laptop screen. They then took a quiz over the plot events of the short story, either in a physical or digital format. Lastly, they completed a short survey regarding their use of E-books and how their technological interactions affect their vision. It was found that the only factor that affected quiz scores was the testing medium. It is important, then, to ensure that online exams are user-friendly