Applying Quantitative Methods to E-book Collections

Sexton, Rachael

Goertzen, M. J. (2017). Applying Quantitative Methods to E-book Collections. Library Technology Reports, 53(4), 3. https://doi.org/10.5860/ltr.53n4

Evaluation:  Since my summary of the article is so long, I included most of my evaluation within the summary so that you could more easily see where my opinions coincided with what was being said in the article.  My asides are in bold.  I was skeptical about and disagreed with a few things that were said, but overall the evidence of the savings that she was able to obtain make this 33-page article well worth the read.    

Summary: 

This article says that the e-book market is still in the developing stages and is known as “the new wild west.”  It is harder to obtain funding for digital resources, since there can be confusion about the cost, with some thinking that digital information is free.  Evaluating electronic resources using quantitative methods require skills and training that are hard to obtain in this new area.  The article references another article, “The Evolving DDA Project at the Orbis Cascade Alliance,” by Kathleen Carlisle Fountain.  There is then a long quote from that article, about the author not being trained to make book purchasing decisions based on a data driven approach.   This article and the quote greatly affected the author of this report, Melissa Goertzen. 

Goertzen relies on Microsoft Excel to do her work.  She spent two years conducting a study in preparation to write this article.  Where she works, Columbia University Library (CUL), was able to use the results of her study in a productive way to save money. The value of e-book collections is tied to patron needs.  Goertzen lays out what she will discuss in chapter 3 of the report.  Her analysis methods work just as well for e-journal packages as they do for e-book collections.  She gives a summary of what chapter 5 will contain.  She says that her report should not be viewed as an end point, but rather as just the beginning. 

Before anything can be accomplished, one should understand the trends of e-book publishing.  At the end of the chapter, Goertzen will provide a list of suggested reading.  Business models are often changing in regards to e-book distribution.  While e-books cost 12% less in one area to produce than print books, they have three other areas of expense that print books don’t have, so they aren’t less expensive to produce.  According to Goertzen, the business model for e-books is similar to the print module in regards to library’s acquiring them, though I personally disagree, since I think there are too many differences for them to be regarded as similar.  Goertzen even expounds on a difference that I had not considered in her next paragraph, saying that e-books are hosted on a third-party website, and that libraries pay for access to it.  There are many fears in regards to the very existence of e-book collections, piracy being one of them. 

There are multiple business models in regards to e-books, just two examples are that in some cases only one patron can have the book at a time, or multiple patrons can have the same copy at a time (which is another thing that could never happen with the acquisition of a print book).  Another technique for collection development in regards to e-books that is now being utilized is giving patrons the power to request books that are not in the collection.  With so many options to choose from, this provides libraries with the opportunity to choose the business model that best suits their needs.  The wonderful thing about e-books is the patron’s ability to access them any time.  Remote access is another benefit.  In regards to the academic world, e-books are most often utilized to complete a task.  Goertzen claims that e-books are most often skimmed and if they seem useful, a print version is requested and actually read.  I wonder if a study has been conducted to see if this is true across all age groups, it seems doubtful that it is.  The PDF format is especially popular in academic circles.

Goertzen reports having a paradigm shift several months into her study.  This led her to think of several new questions, which fed into one overarching question.  She identifies two collection strategies, “just in case” and “just in time” which informs purchasing decisions.  Discovering the intentions of the patrons can help when answering questions from stakeholders.  She states that chapter 3 will contain more information about indicators which influence collection development decisions.  Learn information needs by asking patrons directly.  Develop strong ties with liaison librarians. (Obviously this step doesn’t apply if you are the only liaison librarian or if your institution doesn’t have any.  It would have been nice if she had given an alternative to this step.)  Next, consider whether e-books are most likely to be skimmed or read. (How on earth would you know that for certain?  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure after all.  Worse, what if you thought you knew, and were wrong?)  Evaluate subscription usage over a period of three years.  Goertzen wrote a base evaluative framework.  She gives the titles of five articles that she recommends reading. 

Cost analysis is a quantitative method that can be useful for library administrators.  It is important to know what is meant by the term quantitative research.  It is data which can be represented by numbers and can then be used in statistics.  It answers the “what” and “how” most effectively.  Demographics are just one part of quantitative research.   However it cannot answer the “why,” which requires qualitative research.  Keeping one’s goal in mind is important when embarking on this sort of endeavor.  Quantitative research has six key characteristics.

Next she outlines the types of findings that quantitative research can bring about, as well as the advantages and limitations of it.  There are multiple sources of quantitative research.  Using subjects areas to study the e-book collections adds depth to the study.  Library administrators were the primary motivators to Goertzen’s work.  She organizes information into seven different categories.  She takes two days to update the information in these categories every year.  Information sources can come from within and without the library.  Goertzen next gives a list of definitions of words she will use.  Then she gives an overview of what data she uses in her e-book collection analysis.  First is input cost measures, second collection output measures, third effectiveness measures and indicators, fourth domain measures, and fifth cost-effectiveness indicators. 

There is a lack of standardization when it comes to data sets from certain vendors, which makes quantitative research challenging.  A strong understanding of the audience of your report is key.  Creating an outline of your intended project is never a waste of time.  Each project that you take on allows you to grow and be better equipped for the next project.  Goertzen started working at CUL in 2013, so she now has many years of experience.  She was able to save the library $50,000 in 2015.  CUL’s collection has more than 12 million volumes and 160,000 journals and serials.  They also have over 2 million e-book titles.  With such a large collection, a small subset was chosen to use in the study.  Next she analyzed the subscription cost of the e-books versus the usage of the e-books.  This resulted in a valuable find that one of their subscriptions contained outdated material and missing volumes in multivolume sets.  When going to cancel their subscriptions, a conversation was started with the vendor which ultimately led to an 80% discount and saved them $51,000 annually starting in 2014.  Another library division at CUL used this same technique and as a result were able to start saving $10,000 annually. 

The decision was made to study the titles that were included in course reserves at a later date.  She looked at a total of 96 subscriptions and 35 packages.  She was also able to go to the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library in 2016 and conduct the study there.  She analyzed 14,802 titles for them.  She discovered that only 36% of the titles had been used at least once.  Another decision was made to analyze print subscriptions that are over five years old at a later date. 

Then she was asked to evaluate e-journal costs at two different libraries on campus.  An added element to this study was she also analyzed where users were when they accessed the e-journals.  Based on citation use, only 10% of the titles met the criteria to be retained.  Based on publication analysis, 25% of the titles met the criteria. 

By conducting this sort of study, collection development policies can be formulated.  This is especially important because budget will not likely grow alongside demand.  This study should be conducted once every five years.  For basic and extensive collections, the author recommends e-book purchases, but for research collections she recommends print resources.  There will be challenges going forward, such as complications arising from open-access initiatives and the fact that e-books are now beginning to be offered in pdf format instead of through a host platform.                           

  

E-Book Market Considerations for Public Libraries

El-Bathy, N Khalil

Sanchez, J. (2015). Forecasting public library e-content costs. Library Technology Reports, 51(8), 8-15.

Summary
Sanchez tracked the availability of content that was previously available in both print that is now only available online and discovered a 5% transition rate from print or print & digital availability to digital availability only.  Sanchez predicts that even this moderate transition rate will have devastating effects for library budgets because of the higher cost of e-books compared to print books.

Evaluation
This article is a good introduction for anyone new to the task of budgeting, collection development, and e-books.  Library Technology Reports, in general, is an invaluable tool for library professionals.  Being nearly three years old, this article, however, is rather dated given the fast pace at which technology and market dynamics develop.  I would be interested to read a more current article on the subject, especially one that discusses if and how the budget forecast presented here by Sanchez did or did not develop the way he envisioned.  This article should be read along with "What Cost and Usage Data Reveals about E-book Acquisitions" by Carrico, Cataldo, Botero, and Shelton (2015), and also Rossman and Arlitsch's (2015) "From Acquisitions to Access."

While Sanchez paints a very bleak picture of the rising cost of e-books, he has left out many important considerations.  For example, publishers don't want to price themselves out of business.  The low production cost of e-book compared to print editions means that e-books are not too expensive to produce and sell at a profit.  The rate of profit can afford to consider how much it's customers are willing and able to pay.  The question is whether e-book publishing companies are willing to give up their sales contracts with the library industry because the latter can no longer afford to pay.  Do these companies have other sustainable sources of revenue that make the library market for e-books obsolete?  Even if they did, why not lower the price and make profit on top of those other profit revenue sources.  Sanchez's explanation is worth considering but there are other variables and market practices he does not discuss.

Teens, Technology, and Libraries: An Uncertain Relationship

Thoai Truong

Agosto, D.E. Magee, R. M.  Dickard, M.  Forte, A. (2016, July). Teens, technology, and libraries: An

          uncertain relationship. Library Quarterly, 86(3), 248-269. Retrieved from   

          http://www.journals.uchicago.edu.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/686673

Descriptive Summary:

The goal of this study is to find the relationship betwee teens, libraries, and technology.  25 high school students were surveyed and interviewed at an urban magnet public school.  They all volunteered and were paid $20 for their time.  Students were asked about their most recent library visit.  What exactly did the do in the library and why?  The data collected revealed that most students use the library for social interaction and leisure opportunities.  Most claimed that their limited library use was due to a library being equated with books.  They also viewed the library as having limited resources.  The physical space of the library became a place to do things for non library purposes.  Overall, the library was not a place where students were seeking to use technology.  Most had access to the Internet and computer at home. There were a small number of students that enjoyed checking out books over e-books.

Evaluation:

Although the research only surveyed 25 students, it provided insight into the thinking of teenagers. Today most families have Internet access at home and a smart phone, which makes information retrieval at the library not very important.  Their reasoning and purpose for library use makes sense. I would like more students to be interviewed. I would also like to see if this is the same sentiment across the United States. Follow up questions allowed for more understanding to their reasons for using/not using the library. I like the fact that the researchers allowed the students to define the library.

Perhaps we are seeing more maker spaces and learning commons taking shape in libraries due to this attitude by teenagers.  Libraries are trying to draw in patrons, and need to find alternative ways, besides technology, which is no longer the main draw to libraries.

How to maintain and weed E-book collections

Samnath, Kayla

Culley, J. (2015). I Feel the Need to Weed!: Maintaining an E-book Collection. The Southeastern Librarian, 63(1), 2.

Summary:

Author Jennifer Culley is the acquisitions librarian at the university of southern Mississippi. She discusses in her text the need to “weed”, and why perhaps it shouldn’t be viewed as such a negative aspect. She also discusses electronic books, and how it is crucial to continuously evaluation and assess the collection, regardless of format. Culley explains “the idea of more is better does not always hold true” (2015, p. 02).

Culley offers readers a brief historical overview of electronic books. Interestingly enough, electronic books have been around since the 1970’s. Project Gutenberg, which is still going strong today, is one of the first platforms in which electronic books were offered. However, the technology to use these sources was expensive. It wasn’t until the rapid evaluation of technology through netLibrary internet based services, google books, and more recently tablets, kindles, laptops, and smartphones that electronic books really took off (2015, p.02).

Electronic books allow patrons to have access to information at any time. It does not matter if patrons are inside or outside the library. Culley explains that “...there are several avenues to obtaining ebooks for libraries: libraries can purchase them through subscription services where they can get large collections of materials by subject matter, they can order single titles or implement a demand driven e-book acquisitions program” (2015, p.03). Although libraries can obtain electronic books, there is still the matter of weeding, even for electronic materials.

Weeding these materials are necessary due to cluttered search results, old data, or simply wrong information. Culley explains that this outdated information can be harmful, and even stressful on students. Typically users will make a selection on the top results due to muddled results. This became apparent on searches for STEAM, technology, science, and mathematics (2015, p.03).  Culley makes the argument that similar criteria should be used on electronic books as the ones they use for print and other physical materials. A great example of criteria for these types of resources the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Their system for weeding e-books is: “Misleading, and/or factually inaccurate; Ugly, not applicable for ebooks; Superseded, by a truly new edition or by a much better book on the subject; Trivial, of no discernible literary or scientific merit; Irrelevant, to the needs and interests of your communication; Elsewhere, the material can be obtained expeditiously somewhere else” (2015, p.04). Utilizing techniques such as these will allow electronic materials to become more meaningful, and also saving money by cancelling certain subscriptions.

Evaluation:

This article was helpful in understanding the concept of weeding, and the impact it can have on electronic books. It offers a really great history of electronic materials, and how libraries have really adapted to this format. The article was extremely useful when completing presentation four. Culley also gives insight from a librarian perspective. It was interesting how the article expressed that librarians are typically hesitant to weed because the thought of throwing away materials can be perceived as detrimental. Culley points out that how there are constantly new editions being published, in which sometimes makes the older versions obsolete. I really liked how Culley simply states that more isn’t always better, sometimes having more makes the information search frustrating, and muddled with useless results.

This article was extremely helpful when completing presentation four. For our proposed budget presentation understanding how to weed, and develop a criteria to assist in making those decisions. I would recommend this article for novices interested in collection development and management. It uses a great case study in order to assist in a deeper understanding of the concept of maintaining a collection, regardless if it is electronic or traditional formats.

Building a Collection from the Ground Up

Leininger, Isis
INFO 266
4/28/2016

Flater, E. (2016). Building a collection from the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at developing a collection for a new master’s degree. Strategic Library. Retrieved from http://www.libraryspot.net/SL/Collections.pdf

Flater, E. (2015, November). From the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at new collection building [PDF poster]. Retrieved from http://schd.ws/hosted_files/2015charlestonconference/1e/poster2dark.pdf

In the midst of all my subscriptions to listservs and newsletters, I found something that is related to this class and that could actually help us with our projects both in school and in our careers. The article was linked through the newsletter and I was able to find the author's online poster so you can look through both the article and the poster. I highly recommend that you read them if you plan on becoming an academic librarian when you graduate.

The article and poster are accounts of how an academic librarian developed a collection to support a new graduate program. The author talks about the funding she had access to, the deadlines she had to meet, and tools she used for collection development. She also talks about the challenges they met through the process, where they are, and where they want to be in the future.
She talks about how they divided their budget to buy new, older, and eBooks. She discusses that her library had to reevaluate expenditures and invest more money on eBook databases for Architecture. E-book collections subscriptions, as she came to realize, became a great way of improving the collection quickly and effectively.
The author also discusses using LOC classification for finding materials in other disciplines that related to the field. She also followed the guidance of other libraries, professional organizations, bibliographies, book reviews, and other resources. In addition, she points out the importance of improving the communication with campus faculty in order to better meet the needs of the campus.

This article and corresponding poster can certainly serve as good guides for us as we develop collections in academic libraries. It is a good overview of what kind of resources we should look into, and what kinds of challenges we might face in collection development. It also serves as a good example of how academic librarians can do collection development under a limited budget. In fact, I have saved the article and poster so that I can use it as a quick guide if I ever have to do this kind of collection development in my career.

What Cost and Usage Data Reveals About E-Book Acquisitions: Ramifications for Collection Development

Campbell, Heather

Carrico, S. B., Cataldo, T. T., Botero, C., & Shelton, T. (2015). What cost and usage data reveals about E-book acquisitions: Ramifications for collection development. Library Resources & Technical Services, 59(3), 102-111. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1700405848?accountid=130717

SUMMARY:

In this study, a team of librarians from the University of Florida sought to determine the most efficient and cost effective way of acquiring e-books. They looked at three different methods: e-books acquired in large publisher packages; single-title e-books selected through firm orders; and e-books purchased through two patron-driven acquisitions plans. They also compared the results across three different disciplines: humanities and social sciences, science-technology-engineering-mathematics, and medicine.

They found that patron-driven acquisitions were the most effective method of acquiring e-books for the humanities and social science disciplines. E-books acquired via large publisher packages and single title selection showed a high percentage of non-use.

However, when it came to the other two disciplines, they found that acquiring e-books through large publisher packages was most efficient. The books showed high usage, and very low cost per usage. They determined that selecting individual books was not as effective because of the staff time involved.  

EVALUATION:

Despite the study being specifically for a university library, I did find the article to include some helpful information. I’m not positive how the public library I work for acquires e-materials, but I do know that it does do patron driven acquisitions, and that when an electronic title is requested, the library acquires it very quickly, usually within 24 hours.

What was not mentioned in the article was whether these titles were available for unlimited checkout or not. I know that we have several different types of e-books at my library. Some that are only available for one checkout at a time, some that can be checked out by unlimited users at the same time, and some that are only allowed a set number of checkouts and become unavailable once that number is reached.

The First Library-Developed E-Book Interlibrary Loan System

Asuman Tezcan
INFO 266
Fall 2015

Litsey, R., Ketner K. (Vol 7, No1, 2015). "Occam's Reader: The First Library-Developed Ebook Interlibrary Loan System" Collaborative Librarianship. Retrieved December 11, 2015, from http://www.collaborativelibrarianship.org

Occam's Reader: The First Library-Developed Ebook Interlibrary Loan System

In this article, the authors explain the development of e-book interlibrary loan system. “Occam’s Reader”, e-book interlibrary system, was developed by ILL Librarians, IT staff from Texas Tech, and the University of Hawaii team. The pilot project began in 2014 with Springer and the Greater Western Librarian Alliance’s 33 member libraries. In 2015, new version of the system released as Occam’s Reader 2.0. So far, over 500 e-books have been exchange between GWLA members. Evaluation: In this article, the authors inform readers about the development of e-book interlibrary loan system. According to authors “Occam’s Reader” was the first initiative through partnership of different entities and this system enabled academic libraries to collaborate and cooperate together. I would like to read a bit more the new system's possible impacts on libraries collections in future. Generally speaking, this is an informative article.  

Will Books Be Different?

Zatko, Ruzena

Guthrie, K. K. (2012). Will books be different?. Journal of Library Administration, 52(5), 353-

369.

Summary:

This literature provides a lot of coverage on how far we have come with journals for research from the early 1990s up till now. It also covers aspects of books (for leisure) and how the reading patterns changed. The author has extensive background working for JSTOR so he has seen the evolution of trends from the printing of research article trends to now being able to access it from your own home or from anywhere. The paper is broken into two parts: The print-to-electronic transition for journals and the print-to-electronic transition for books. Overall, the focus is on the transition of both mediums and how print and electronic book and journals are looking in the future.

 

Evaluation:

This paper was well written and flowed smoothly. The reason I felt this literature would be important to include is because I wanted to focus on some past history of library trends with research journals and book from then and now. I was very impressed with the insight Gutherie provided that was acquired by his extensive knowledge from his position. What could have be included is a chart demonstrating our reading habits and acquiring of journals, then and now. Also, since Gutherie mentions the demand for articles and that publishers are willing to provide a bundle savings rather than purchasing select titles. However, some libraries lack the funds and cannot bundle. What could have been included is some examples of the size of bundle a well-funded library can buy compared to a low-budget library.

In all, this was informative insight because this was the first mention of the raw, behind-the-scenes of libraries’ eBook acquisitions through publishers and the concerns we often don’t hear about. Overall, libraries are indicating they expect to spend nearly half of their budget on electronic books and changing their model for patron-driven approaches for acquisitions.

50:50 by 2020

Zatko, Ruzena

Lodge, D. (2015). ‘50:50 by 2020’. Australian Library Journal, 64(3), 165-167.

doi:10.1080/00049670.2015.1041217

Summary:

In this article, Damien Lodge discusses patterns in the future of eBooks and eReaders. Lodge is currently a lecturer at Charles Strut University and previously served as President for Australian and Library Information Association (ALIA). Although the article is title 50/50 by 2020, the conclusion ends that the ratio of eBooks vs prints will most likely be 20:80.

The article is informative on statistics of eReaders from 2010 to present. The results show that from 2010 (when eReaders started to take off) the trend has since slowed down and the purchase of readers is becoming more stagnant. Lodge also mentions that major publishing companies are working with libraries in terms of receiving discounts with eBooks.

Evaluation:


            Lodge demonstrated some great points in the future of electronic readers and books, and whether libraries and us print enthusiasts should be concerned. The article covered the pros of eBooks that were mentioned, such as requiring less space, fewer staff, and the savings in budget. Also, an interesting observation is Lodge realizes that eBooks are turning into another format offered at libraries (such as hardcover, audio, etc.) instead of a replacement of print books. On that note, it would be interested to hear other librarians’ feelings about this and if they really care for the perk of less space and staff since this is jeopardizing job security.
           Overall, it does demonstrate that libraries in general are taking the next step to equip their library with eBook for their tech savvy patrons. What the article could have covered is approximately what percentage of libraries are frequently working with publishers and taking advantage of the offers. Also, if and what percentage of libraries still don’t offer eBooks for whatever reason.

Adoption of e-Book Readers Among College Students

Nicole J. Hoback

Reference:

Foasbert, N. M. (2011). Adoption of e-Book Readers among College Students: A

            Survey. Information Technology & Libraries. 30(3), 108-128.

Summary:

In the article “Adoption of e-Book Readers among College Students,” discusses the 2011 college student survey from the urban, four-year public college, Queens College, on varying aspects concerning e-Books and e-Readers. 1,705 students participated in the survey and showed positives about e-Readers and e-Books, but not all were so enthusiastic. The main analysis of the survey was to understand who owns e-Readers and how do they use these tablets. In a 2010 a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life, found that only 5% of Americans owned an e-Readers. At the time Amazon and Barnes and Noble e-Readers were around $300. While this seems hard to imagine, now that one can purchase an Amazon Kindle Fire for as low as $49.99. Of the students who participated in the survey, 401 students stated that they use e-Books, but not on an e-Reader. Price was the largest obstacle as to why the students were not willing to purchase an e-Reader, but acknowledged that if the library were to purchase e-Readers that they would check one out. This survey not only gives an insight into the students feelings about e-Readers, but also how even a few years of technology development can change the once foreign e-Reader into a popular student option.

Evaluation:

While I found this survey very useful, it also is a testament to how quickly technology development and opinions of these technologies can change. Since the survey indicated that the price of e-Readers was the biggest deterrent from purchasing one, I would like to think that the purchase of these devices has been on the rise since the dramatic drop in price, since this interview was conducted. I think that reading older surveys, especially those based on technology, are great to reference when seeing how technology has changed and developed, but it is important to understand that changes in technology have changed and evolved since 2011, when the survey was conducted.

Cost Differentials between E-Books and Print in Academic Libraries.

By DeFazio, Michelle

Bailey, T. t., Scott, A. a., & Best, R. r. (2015). Cost Differentials between E-Books and Print in   Academic Libraries. College & Research Libraries, 76(1), 6-18.

Summary:  This recent article lays out the differences in cost between E-Books and Print for Academic Libraries and determines that E books are still a good deal more expensive than their print counterparts when determining where limited purchasing power should be spent.  

Evaluation: As academic libraries try to find balance between limited physical space and greater access for all patrons against the higher costs of E-materials, it is important to understand the bottom line when determining where more and more limited funds should be spent. This is a highly relevant article for organizations trying to find this balance.