eBook Purchase Research Articles

A retrospective look at a DDA-centered collection strategy: Planning for the future of monograph acquisitions

The demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) model has been established as a standard component of collection development strategies for academic libraries. The University of Alabama's collection development strategy revolves around the large DDA program for acquiring electronic monographs and is supplemented by other methods of monographic acquisitions such as firm ordering, bulk eBook purchases, and more. While previous studies have confirmed the advantages of The University of Alabama's DDA plan early in its implementation, this study explores the long-term effectiveness of the DDA-centered collection strategy, seven years after it was first put into place, and examines the validity of the strategy as one bringing efficiency and high return on investment. Finally, this longitudinal study hopes to substantiate the DDA-centered collection strategy as one that could be a foundational model for other academic libraries to follow.

Research Institute Scientists E-Books Usage in India: A Study

ABSTRACT The study is all about using e-books by scientists in research institutes in India. To identify gender-wise usage of e-books by scientists, to understand the purchase and usage of e-books and e-resources, to observe the way of access and usage to e-books, to understand the frequency of the usage of e-books, to detect the type of problems faced by scientists while accessing e-books and to know the reasons for not attending the training program/orientation on using e-resources. The questionnaire method was used to gather the data. An entire 860 questionnaires were distributed, and 700 filled questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 81.39%. The study results show that the maximum number of respondents are male (59.15%) scientists, and 65.7% of RRI scientists use to purchase and use e-books. A maximum number of scientists access e-books purchased by their research institute. 52.8% of scientists feel that many e-books could be more beneficial for their research. More than 50% of scientists feel they need no training to access e-books. It is very clear from the study that research institute libraries must subscribe to e-books useful to their scientists.

Beyond usage – Selection strategies for EBA programs

Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA) is a monograph-purchasing model in which a library licenses access to a large corpus of ebooks for a set period of time (typically a year). At the end of the term, the library acquires a number of permanent titles with a set dollar amount. Much has been published about choosing an EBA provider, with the focus primarily on usage during the full-access period. Little has been written about the decision-making process for permanent access monograph purchase. Our analysis of usage data at J. Paul Leonard Library has shown that year-to-year usage of monographs in an EBA program fluctuates markedly, so usage during one year is not a strong indicator of long-term value. Other factors are worth considering. This case report will document the library's overall EBA efforts and the development of a system whereby selectors advised on the purchase of ebooks in five different EBA programs, and the criteria they used in their selection.

Predicting eBook Purchases of Heterogeneous Social Groups in a Social Network Site Using Network Metrics

Predicting eBook Purchases of Heterogeneous Social Groups in a Social Network Site Using Network Metrics

Predicting eBook purchases of heterogeneous social groups in a social network site using network metrics

Predicting eBook purchases of heterogeneous social groups in a social network site using network metrics

Faculty Select

EBSCO's Faculty Select database provides a central platform to discover open educational resources (OERs) and digital rights management (DRM)-free e-books. OER content is from several established and well-known content providers: BC Open Textbook, Milne Open Textbook, OpenStax, and the Open Textbook Library. The database also searches OAPEN Library's Open Access content and DRM-free e-books available for purchase from EBSCO. The database is configurable, upon implementation, to search EBSCO's Open Access Monograph Collection and owned DRM-free e-books. Users can preview content and then request course-friendly links for OER and owned DRM-free e-books or request the purchase of DRM-free e-books. This database may be of interest to faculty and librarians searching for affordable course content to replace or supplement traditional textbooks, depending on the institution's budget and needs.

A Study on Shifting Perceived Value of E-books in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic

The research study titled "A study on shifting perceived value of e-books in light of Covid -19 pandemics" aims in exploring the value of e-books among guardians and students. It also aims in understanding the changing behavior of students toward the purchase of e-books. It will also help in comprehending the future preference or trends linked with the format of books purchased. The research study will help the researcher in identifying the variations in everyday life initiated by the pandemic related to the books. Both primary and secondary research methods have been taken into consideration for the evaluation of the research data. Based on the collected data, the researcher has evaluated it and has presented research findings. Here the researcher has highlighted both the perspectives, the traditional books, and e-books. Traditional books tend to have an emotional value compared to e-books. Moreover, with the adoption of various applications of technology, E-books can be searched or accessed easily. E-books are preferred as they are more affordable than the printed copy version.

Factors Affecting E-Book Purchase Decisions of Customers in Thailand

The objectives of the research were to review literatures related to the factors that affected the consumers’ decision to buy E-books in Thailand, to promote competition and competitive advantages of Thai printing media industry. Nowadays the printed books become less popular, which makes the publishing industries change their platforms in selling their books in the shape of E-books. The changes were made to accommodate the changing demands. The results acquired from the literary reviews were found that the significant factors affecting the consumers’ decision to buy E-books in Thailand were as follows: technological acceptance, electronic service quality, and online consumer behaviors. Based on the results, the conceptual framework was developed on the causal factors that influenced the consumers’ decision to buy E-books. Additionally, it was expected that the electronic service quality might be the vital variable among technological acceptance, online consumer behaviors and decision to buy E-books. If the consumers’ technological acceptance was high, it was likely that their perception of the electronic service quality was also high, which could in turn have an effect on their decision to buy E-books.

Measuring the Past to Guide the Future: Takeaways from a Retrospective Disciplinary Analysis on Print Books and Ebooks

This study investigates the relationship between librarians’ purchases and the actual preferences of library patrons based on usage. Using ten years of purchase history, we reviewed how print and ebook preferences have changed over time and what role, if any, discipline plays in format preferences. This information will be used to help subject librarians across various disciplines to make informed print and ebook purchases, relying on actual patron preferences rather than guesswork.

Effect of Green Marketing Instruments and Behavior Processes of Consumers on Purchase and Use of E-books

The present study aims to investigate the effect of green marketing instruments and to understand the behavior of consumers in the purchase and use of e-books. The environmental label is one of the tools of green marketing that can be used in the primary pages of e-books to show being an environmentalist. This applied study is a survey-descriptive one in terms of collecting data. The population of the current study consists of 65 postgraduate students of the Department of Knowledge and Information Science of the University of Tehran in 2019, which 55 of them were selected by simple random sampling method using the Cochran's sample size formula with the confidence level of 0.05. A researcher-made questionnaire including 34 questions has been used to collect data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyze and describe the data. The results showed that among the six measured parameters (i.e., 1. users' awareness of the environment; 2. users' environmental advocacy; 3. environmental advertising; 4. users' attitudes toward the environment; 5. users' purchase intention; and 6. environmental label), there is a meaningful and positive relationship between the four first above-mentioned parameters respectively and there is no meaningful relationship between fifth and sixth parameters. Based on the results of the present study, libraries, publishers and distributors of e-books are recommended to promote the environmental advocacy and green marketing to achieve their purpose in increasing the digital reading level of the country and to encourage users to choose the digital reading at a low cost, and also, help protect the environment and stop cutting down trees. Based on the results of the present research, we suggest to librarians and publishers of e-books to pay attention to users' awareness of the environment, users' environmental advocacy, environmental advertising, and users' attitudes toward the environment respectively.

Rational actions or institutional actions: A study on the rationality in academic librarians' decision-making processes when purchasing e-book products

It is important for academic librarians to demonstrate that they are trusted stewards of public money when purchasing e-book products; however, prior studies seldom examine the rationality in librarians' decision-making processes. Interviews including 20 librarians from 19 different institutions were conducted to collect data about their decision-making processes when purchasing e-book products. Institutional theory was used as a framework to analyze interview data. Librarians' perceptions of the environment where their decision process occurred were described as full of uncertainty, with the e-book market viewed as non-competitive with limited alternative products. Seven strategies the interviewees adopted to justify their purchase decisions were then identified, including experimentation, incorporating users' input, reliance on written documents, learning from past experiences, learning from other libraries, group decision, and aggressive negotiation. Decision-making processes were a mixture of institutional and rational actions. Factors affecting rationality in librarians' e-book purchase decisions could be applied to other types of decision-making in library settings, allowing stakeholders to better understand and interpret the situations that either help or hinder the rationality in library's decision-making.

Automation and networking of agricultural university libraries in Karnataka: A study

Automation and networking of agricultural university libraries in Karnataka: A study - IJLSIT- Print ISSN No: - 2582-1555 Online ISSN No:- 2456-9623 Article DOI No:- 10.18231/j.ijlsit.2019.021, IP Indian Journal of Library Science and Information Technology-IP Indian J Libr Sci Inf Technol

Competing eBook acquisition models: which model best serves a community college library?

PurposeAcademic libraries continue to invest in eBooks to ensure access to content in various formats. This paper aims to examine eBook acquisition models, including patron-driven acquisitions, one-time purchases, focused collection subscriptions or large-scale subscriptions, to better understand how users engage with this content based on usage data.Design/methodology/approachUsage data provide insights into eBook acquisition and how access models influence use. This study defines the acquisition model for each eBook purchase. Data were examined to determine usage by acquisition model and cost-per-use.FindingsThis paper finds that for a large suburban community college, a large-scale subscription model has the lowest cost-per-use and serves the largest portion of students. Focused collection subscriptions supported small, specialized programs in the Allied Health, Emergency Services, and Nursing fields.Originality/valueThis paper examines how eBooks are acquired to determine which model best serves an academic library community, specifically a community college library, which is currently underrepresented in the literature.

When Seeing Helps Believing: The Interactive Effects of Previews and Reviews on E-Book Purchases

For many products, particularly digital content, consumers base purchase-related decisions on not only others’ evaluations (e.g., online reviews) but also their own direct experiences (e.g., previews). Many of them therefore combine “seeing” through their own encounters with “believing” the assessments of others, often being confronted with a situation wherein the former contradicts the latter. This study investigates the dynamics underlying the interactive relationships between online reviews and previews to shed light on how consumers collectively use these pre-buying resources as guidance in purchasing e-books. Our research reveals that consumers wisely leverage previews in accordance with the characteristics of reviews (e.g., volume, valence, and variance). The positive effects of previews increase with decreasing review volume and average valence. Consumers also rely heavily on previews in situations wherein a high variance exists among the indirect evaluations of reviewers. We detect the presence of order effects with respect to exposure to previews and reviews; exposure to previews after accessing reviews more effectively drives sales than when exposure to reviews precedes the encounters. These results provide content providers with useful managerial insights into how they can maximize consumers’ overall prepurchase experiences and enhance content sales through the excellent leveraging of previews and reviews.

What Drives E-Book Use: A Comparative Study of Paper-Based Books and E-Books in Japan

The objective of this paper is to examine the reasons for adoption of e-books using the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2) and two additional constructs - ＂long-tail effect＂ and ＂trust.＂ To achieve this goal, the authors conducted a comparative study in Japan of e-book and paper-based book purchases through online channels. The paper-based book is a physical product, whereas the e-book is a digital one. This study found some differences in the reasons for user adoption of these two products. The differences reveal the importance of external market situations, industry standards, and the inherent characteristics of the products as factors affecting the motivations for adoption of one product or the other. The construct ＂trust＂ was found to have a significant relationship to the intention to use both types of products, whereas ＂long-tail effect＂ was found to have a significant relationship to the intention to use paper-based books. On the other hand, the ＂price value＂ construct of UTAUT2 was found to have a significant relationship for e-books, but was not found to have a significant relationship for paper-based books purchased through online channels. It is proposed that future research include the relationship of both ＂long-tail effect＂ and ＂trust＂ constructs to the existing UTAUT2 research framework.

The Effect of Presentation Types and Flow on E-Book Purchase Intention

E-book has grown into a revolutionary way of publishing due to the rapid development of mobile technologies. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) revealed that E-book sales were down in 2014. Many designers consider E-book should be produced with dynamic format to increase purchase behavior. This study focuses on individual users’ perceived characteristics of innovation and the flow of e-books with different presentation types as explanatory and predictive variables impacting the purchase behavior of users. The experiment was conducted using 200 student volunteers at a comprehensive university. There are significant differences in the perceived characteristics of innovation, flow and purchase intention for different presentation types of e-book readers. Flow is an important factor influencing the e-book purchase intention and carries the same weight in each group tested. For reading static e-book content on a tablet, users’ perceived observability and flow have positive impacts on their purchase intention. Conversely, users’ perceived complexity has a negative effect on their purchase intention. The research results suggest that designers and publishing companies produce static, not dynamic e-books for use on the tablet to increase E-book sales.

Environmental Protection: Essentials/Antecedents of Digital Book Adoption

Encouraging e-book adoption has great contribution towards environmental protection. In this research, we propose, the extension to the more comprehensive new product model, UTAUT, which comprises of four variables i.e. social influence, performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions, by incorporating new variable “benevolence trust”. The finding showed that, in presence of the benevolence trust, all the constructs of UTAUT increased significantly and benevolence trust becomes the most important determinants for predicting e-book purchase. Our findings further explore benevolence trust moderates the application of UTAUT for e-book purchase prediction. All these findings can help e-book providers to formulate effective marketing strategies to make consumers overcome their psychological resistance for using e-book.

Assessing the Borrow Direct engineering e-book pilot

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of a one-year pilot exploring the joint purchase of e-books via demand-driven acquisition (DDA) conducted by engineering librarians from seven members of the Borrow Direct interlibrary loan partnership. Also provided are observations that may inform future initiatives of a similar nature. Design/methodology/approach – The author presents a case study approach and examination of the results. Findings – The pilot was discontinued as a result of dissatisfaction with its configuration, but it did offer significant financials savings as well as provide accessible copies of mutually acquired titles to each member. The pilot also offered several lessons that can inform future joint e-book endeavors. Originality/value – Multi-institutional joint e-book DDA acquisition has been attempted elsewhere; however, what is unique about this pilot is that it was managed by seven independent institutions without a central legal entity to oversee it. This paper is a follow-up to the author’s presentation at the 80th IFLA World Library and Information Congress, August 16-22, 2014, in Lyon, France.

OverDrive for Medical and Consumer Health Libraries

E-book purchases have been on the rise in the general populations, as has the rise in e-book borrowing from public libraries. In the last few years, health-related, personal growth and leadership books for professionals and consumers have also been increasingly available in an e-book format. The librarians at Saint Joseph Hospital, which includes both a clinical and a consumer library, wanted to provide their patrons with this new type of e-collection to meet the growing interest. After looking at other options, OverDrive was chosen based on several factors: familiarity by public, ease of use, breadth of titles, support, few app downloads to access items.

The influence of student learning characteristics on purchase of paper book and eBook for university study and personal interest

First-year university students (n = 199) completed an online questionnaire that queried their purchase of paper books and eBooks for university study and personal interest. The questionnaire also required students to rate their learning characteristics including reading strategies, study self-regulation, learning control beliefs and achievement motivation. Self-reported student learning characteristic scores were associated with self-reported book purchases. For example, as student extrinsic motivation scores increased, number of paper books purchased for university study tended to increase. As student learning control belief scores increased, purchase of eBooks for university study tended to increase. Collectively, such results lend support to the conclusion that education students who embrace emerging technologies such as eBooks and who read for leisure perceive themselves as more able learners than students who do not embrace emerging technologies such as eBooks and who do not read for leisure.