E-books In Academic Libraries Research Articles

E-books in academic libraries: lessons learned and new challenges

Serials: The Journal for the Serials Community has been digitised and can be accessed in full on this website. All content is freely available on an open-access basis. Serials was published between 1988 and 2011. In 2012, the journal was retitled and is now published as Insights: the UKSG journal.

E-Books in wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken: Versuch einer Bestandsaufnahme

This article aims to provide a practice oriented overview of the current situation of commercially sold or fee-based e-books from the perspective of academic libraries. Given the expectations which both users and libraries hold for this relatively new form of electronic media and the potential which e-books are presumed to have, this article sheds light on what has actually been achieved so far. This survey covers not only a general assessment of the market, but also the current options for access, the price levels and purchase conditions, methods of distribution, options for research and use, and methods of indexing and cataloguing. The essay concludes with examples of actual experiences with e-books in academic libraries and an outlook on possible future developments.

E-BOOKS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES: AN INTERNATIONAL OVERVIEW

This paper provides a broad international overview of e-books in academic libraries. The inconsistent terminology relating to e-books is noted in the first section and a brief history of e-books and some current definitions are given. The stakeholders within the e-book industry are described, with details of some of the services offered. For users and staff in library and information services, e-books can provide a variety of advantages as well as challenges, and these are outlined for those in academic libraries. Findings from various studies on e-books are presented and some of the issues involved in managing e-books in academic libraries are described. Finally an overview is presented of the e-Books Working Group in the United Kingdom. The paper is illustrated with a number of screenshots related to e-books in academic libraries in various parts of the world.