Ebooks and the school library

Christopher Fluetsch

Lamb, A. & Johnson, L. (2014). EBooks and the school library. Teacher Librarian, 41 (3), 58-61.

The issue of whether to invest in a large ebook catalog is an important one for school libraries. Most school libraries function under severe funding constraints, and every purchase is an exercise in opportunity cost. The authors of this article offer some advice for making best practice ebook purchase decisions.

First, the authors strongly state that ebooks will not replace traditional print materials in most libraries. Instead, ebooks serve to supplement in those cases where it is more convenient or cost conscious to provide ebooks.

One case where ebooks work is in libraries with significant space and size restrictions. Useful, comprehensive  print collections can take up a lot of space, but ebook collections take up almost none. A school looking to turn the library into a learning commons might be attracted to the opportunity to eliminate the shelving needed to store a traditional collection.

Another case where ebooks make sense is when the desired book is out of print. There are a number of cases where ebook editions are still readily available, but actual print editions are only available through third party sellers.

Ebooks can be cheaper than print books, another major selling point for budget conscious school libraries. If a school library can buy twice as many ebooks as print books, it behoves the teacher librarian to strongly consider the benefits.

The authors encourage school libraries to partner with their local public libraries. The school librarian should think very carefully before duplicating the public library ebook collection. Instead, the school library should buy more specialized ebooks that are useful for the curriculum at that school, while leaving the best sellers to the public library.

Unfortunately, the article does not discuss any ethical issues with regard to access that ebooks can cause. Ebooks require an investment in ebook readers, and privileged students are more likely to have that kind of access. It would have been useful for the authors to discuss ways to make sure all student have equal access to the ebook collection.

Overall, this article is a useful introduction to the use of ebooks in school libraries.