1. Evaluating
E-Book Offerings
Ellyssa Kroski
Manager of Information Systems
The New York Law Institute
http://www.nyli.org

2. Why e-Books?
Amazon now sells more Kindle titles than
print books
29% of Americans own a digital reading
device of some kind (eReader or tablet)
According to Forrester, 15 million e-readers
sold in U.S. in 2011
By 2015, Americans are predicted to spend $3
billion on eBooks
Over 40 million iPads sold in 2011

3. Tablets in Law Firms
ILTA’s 2011 Technology Survey

4. of academic libraries
of public libraries
of school libraries
…are offering e-Books

5. BENEFITS

6. No Shelf Space Required!

7. Instant Access

8. Increased Portability

9. Full-Text Search

10. Added Features
• Bookmarks
• Annotations
• Highlighting
• Adjustable Text
• Built-in Dictionaries
• Copy-paste

11. Enhanced Publisher Content

12. CHALLENGES

13. Long Waiting Lists

14. Different Vendors/Interfaces

15. E-Book Devices

16. Popular e-Book Formats & Readers
ios Nook Color
Kindle 3
Windows 7
android
Nook
Sony
Kindle Fire Reader

17. Access & Pricing Models
• Single User vs. Multi-User vs. Unlimited Users
• Individual eBook Purchases vs. Subscriptions
• Perpetual ownership vs. ongoing access fees
• Short-term loans
• Patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) or Demand-
driven acquisitions (DDA)
• “Non-linear lending”

18. Publisher – Library Tension

19. Software Installation

20. Firewall Issues

21. Mediated Loans

22. WAYS
TO
PURCHASE

23. Purchase Options
Aggregators Publishers
Wholesalers Consortia

24. Major e-Book Aggregators
• Overdrive
– 1 million digital titles, 1,000 publishers, used by 18,000
libraries, schools, and colleges worldwide
– LexisNexis Digital Library of 1,200 primary law, deskbooks,
code books, treatises and other titles.
• EBL – Ebook Library (Acquired by Proquest on Jan 22, 2013)
– 300,000 e-books, 500 publishers8,650 law-related titles
• eBooks on EBSCOhost (formerly NetLibrary)
– 350,000 e-books, 8,000+ law-related titles
• MyiLibrary
– 300,000 e-books, 1,000 publishers, 8,000 law-related titles
• Proquest ebrary
– 70,000 e-books, 6,000 law-related titles

25. Major Publishers
• LexisNexis Digital Library
– 1,200 primary law, deskbooks, code books, treatises
and other titles.
• Thomson Reuters ProView
– 431 law-related titles which link to WestlawNext
• PLI Discover Plus
– 1,600 treatises, course handbooks, and answer books.
Access to transcripts of PLI seminars and
downloadable legal forms.
• Wolters Kluwer International eBook Store
ˉ 100 titles in the areas of law and business.
• Fastcase eBook Advance Sheets
– Currently 50+ with plans for hundreds. All FREE!

26. Major Wholesalers
• Yankee Book Peddler
– 600,000 eBooks from Proquest ebrary, EBL,
eBooks on EBSCOHOST , Gale, and a host of
publisher-direct titles.
• Baker and Taylor
– eBooks from Proquest ebrary, eBooks on
EBSCOHOST, and Gale, as well as many individual
publishers.

27. WHAT SHOULD YOU ASK
VENDORS?

28. Technical Requirements
• Browser compatibility
• Plugins or software required?
• Device compatibility?
• Are you using or plan to use EPUB?
• Data metrics available?

29. Content
• Scope
• Number of titles
• Number of publishers
• MARC records?
• Embargo period?

30. Functionality
• Can User copy/paste?
• Can User print? (is there a limit?)
• Full-text search of books?
• Download for offline reading?
• Annotations?

31. Sales Model
• Platform fee? (Annual, one-time, etc.)
• Single or multiple or unlimited use?
• Title cost relative to print cost?
• Perpetual access?
• Subscription available?
• Free viewing period?
• Short term loans?
• Patron-driven acquisitions?
• Minimum commitment?
• Pricing discounts for consortia?

32. WHAT ARE LAW LIBRARIES
DOING?

33. Purchasing Direct from Publishers
• Cleveland Law Library Association - LexisNexis
• Cooley LLP – Matthew Bender titles through
Lexis contract
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP - PLI
Discover Plus
• Con Edison Law Department Library - PLI
Discover Plus

34. Highlighting Existing Collections
• The New England Law Library - HeinOnline
Legal Classics Library, LLMC’s digital books,
and Oxford Scholarship Online
• The University of Oklahoma Law Library - Gale
Making of Modern Law Collection, Hein
Online’s Legal Classics, LLMC’s digital books,
the main University’s subscription to
Proquest’s ebrary.

35. Purchasing eBook Collections
Through Aggregators
• The Florida State Law Research Center (FSU) &
The Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center at
the University of Florida - joint eBooks
program powered by MyiLibrary.
• Hofstra Law Library - eBooks on EBSCOhost
• Ava Maria School of Law - eBooks on
EBSCOhost
• CUNY Law School Library - Proquest ebrary
• The New York Law Institute – EBL – Ebook
Library

36. Accessing eBooks through
Membership Libraries
• Debevoise & Plimpton – The New York Law
Institute (EBL – Ebook Library)
• All NYLI Members - The New York Law
Institute (EBL – Ebook Library)
• CLLA Members - Cleveland Law Library
Association (LexisNexis titles on laptops)

37. Combining eBook Strategies
• Squire Law Library at the University of
Cambridge - eBooks on EBSCOhost & MyiLibrary
aggregators and Oxford Scholarship Online,
Cambridge Companions Online, and Westlaw
Commentary.
• Peter Rodino Law Library at Seton Hall -
highlighting collections from Gale’s Virtual
Reference Library, subscribing to eBooks on
EBSCOhost and MyiLibrary.
• The University of Chicago D’Angelo Law Library -
Yankee Book Peddler for eBooks on EBSCOhost,
Proquest ebrary, and Cambridge Books Online.

38. Combining eBook Strategies
• The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan
School of Law - EBL – Ebook Library, eBooks
on EBSCOhost, Proquest ebrary, MyiLibrary
and key publishers LexisNexis and
Cambridge Books Online.
• Also Vermont Law School and the Lillian
Goldman Law Library at Yale University
combining eBook strategies.

39. Creating Their Own
• Massachusetts Trial Court Lowell Law
Library - Massachusetts Court Rules and
Documents (downloaded 4,500x in first year)
– http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/rules
/ebooks.html

40. Further Resources
• The No Shelf Required Guide to E-book
Purchasing. Sue Polanka. Library Technology
Reports. http://tinyurl.com/6o6qweg
• JISC E-book Platform Comparison Tool:
http://tinyurl.com/7ankb7e
• Wellesley College e-Book Vendor Evaluation
Matrix: http://tinyurl.com/6om7plj

41. Access this Presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/ellyssa
ELLYSSA KROSKI
http://www.ellyssakroski.com
http://www.ellyssakroski@yahoo.com