E-books have become an important part of academic library collections and services. Nearly all academic libraries now offer e-books, with holdings growing significantly from 2002 to 2010. However, e-books are primarily used for quick fact extraction rather than long-form reading, and large portions of e-book collections go unused. Academic libraries face challenges with e-books including confusing business models, licensing restrictions, and concerns about perpetual access and archiving. Nonetheless, with the rise of mobile devices, e-books are expected to eventually replace printed books as the main format in academic libraries.

1. e-Books in academia:
Surveying the current landscape
Frank Cervone
Principal, Cervone and Associates, LLC
Midwest Collaborative for Library Services
eBooks & Libraries Series - The Digital Library: Now and Future
June 5, 2013

2. Some people perceive
e-Books in academic
libraries as the work
of a malevolent force
Image courtesy of morethings.com

3. Larson, R. R. (1991). The decline of subject searching: Long-term trends and patterns of index use in an online catalog. Journal of the American
Society for Information Science, 42, pp. 197–215. Online at doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199104)42:3<197::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-T
Image courtesy of Chance Agrella
Traditional library
usage may be inferred
by the amount of
searching in catalogs

4. De Groote, S.L., Hitchcock, K., and McGowan, R. (2007). Trends in reference usage statistics in an academic health science library. Journal of the
Medical Library Association, 95(1), pp. 23–30. Online at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1773032/
What is required of
libraries is more
complex today

5. It is obvious that
libraries need to
reinvent themselves if
they are to survive
Castillo, M. (2010). Are Libraries an Endangered Species? American Journal of Neuroradiology, 31, pp. 1161-1162. Online at
www.ajnr.org/content/31/7/1161.long

6. Ninety-four percent
of academic libraries
offer e-Books
33% of school libraries
72% of public libraries
Dilworth, D. (2011). Ninety-four percent of academic libraries offer e-books. Appnewser, February 10, 2011. Online at
www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/ninety-four-percent-of-academic-libraries-offer-ebooks_b5878

7. Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books-
Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file]. Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at www.data-planet.com.
E-Book growth
2002 to 2010

8. Map of e-Book
holdings in academic
libraries by state
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books-
Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6DC808458

9. Number of e-Books in
academic institutions
by state
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books-
Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6D3A1EA55

10. Top 20 adopting
institutions
Data-Planet by Conquest Systems, Inc. (2013). National Center for Education Statistics. Academic Library Statistics: United States: E-Books-
Held at End of FY | Country: USA – [Data-file], Dataset-ID: 017-015-032. Online at doi:10.6068/DP13EF6D9C3AA57

11. Only 12 percent of
academic libraries
circulate preloaded
e-reading devices
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog, February 9, 2011. Online at
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-
here/
Image courtesy of pandodaily

12. This shouldn’t be too
surprising…
• Dedicated e-reader
has not reached a
point where the
technology is worth
investing in
• Technology does
not match delivery
• Focus on standard
computers, PDAs, a
nd other mobile
devices
Kiriakova, M., Okamoto, K. S., Zubarev, M., and Gross, G. (2010). Aiming at a Moving Target: Pilot Testing Ebook Readers in an Urban
Academic Library. Computers in Libraries, 30(2), 20-24.

13. Worrying about
dedicated e-Readers
probably doesn’t
matter anyway
Coursey, D. (2012). How Dead Is Amazon's Kindle? Could Be Very Dead. Forbes, April 30, 2012. Online at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcoursey/2012/04/30/how-dead-is-amazons-mobile-could-be-very-dead/
Kaufman, L. (2013). Barnes & Noble Weighs Its E-Reader Investment, New York Times, February 24, 2013. Online at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/barnes-noble-weighs-its-nook-losses.html?_r=0
Image coutresy of wallpaperswide.com

14. Stereotypes of
academic e-Book
collections
Computer science
Business
Reference
Snowhill, L. (2001). E-books and Their Future in Academic Libraries. D-Lib Magazine 7(7/8). Online at
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july01/snowhill/07snowhill.html

15. Disciplines where
libraries are most
likely to offer e-Books
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog, February 9, 2011. Online at
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-
here/
83 82 80 77
69
51
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

16. It is difficult to compare
the usage of e-Book
volumes with printed
titles
Cox, J. (2004) E-Books: Challenges and Opportunities. D-Lib Magazine, 10(10). Online at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/cox/10cox.html
Courtesy cheekymonokeymedia.com

17. e-Books are used
almost exclusively to
scan for information
D’Agostino, D. (2010). The strange case of academic libraries and e-books nobody reads. Teleread, January 7, 2010. Online at
http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/the-strange-case-of-academic-libraries-and-e-books-nobody-reads/
Arctic Ground Squirrel image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Alan Vernon

18. Evidence strongly
suggests that e-Books
are used primarily used
for quick fact extraction
“Academic” e-
Books, that is
JISC CIBER Team. (2009). JISC national e-books observatory project: Key findings and recommendations.
http://issuu.com/carenmilloy/docs/jisc_national_e-books_observatory_final_report

19. Academic e-Books are
not preferred for long
form reading (today)
The nature of some courses
forces students into using e-
Books as they are unable to
easily visit the physical library
e-Books are not yet regarded
as the main point of
information, but are instead
seen as an accompaniment to
existing resources and are
often only used when print
copies are unavailable
Brown, L. (2010). Ebooks and the academic library: their usage and effect. Dissertation at Aberystwyth
University, http://hdl.handle.net/2160/5954
Image courtesy of The Edmontonian, Brittney Le Blanc

20. What don’t academic
librarians like about
e-Books?
• Variation in and
complexity of
business models for
purchasing
• Licensing variety
and digital rights
management
(DRM) restrictions
• Perceived high
prices
Vasileiou, M., Hartley, R., and Rowley, J. (2012). Choosing e-books: a perspective from academic libraries, Online Information
Review, 36(1), pp.21 - 39

21. Pricing and business
models can be
confusing (and odd)
From an anonymous vendor’s sales presentation
Model Access Level Access Period
Purchase 1U, 3U, UU Ongoing
Subscription UU 1 year
Short-term lease 1U 1/7/14/28 days

22. Large portions of
e-Book collections are
not used
But then, up to 90% of the
traditional reference
collection may not be used
either
Chrzastwoski, T. E. (2013). Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users. Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International
Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, 2011, pp. 53-61. Online at
http://www.libqual.org/documents/LibQual/publications/2013/9th_Northumbria_Conference_Proceedings.pdf
Bradford, J. T. What's Coming Off the Shelves? A Reference Use Study Analyzing Print Reference Sources Used in a University Library, The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 31(6), pp. 546-558. Online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133305001163
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Unused
Used

23. However, cost per use
can be quite low
In the UIUC
study, varied between
$0.68 and $1.48
Chrzastwoski, T. E. (2013). Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users. Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International
Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, 2011, pp. 53-61. Online at
http://www.libqual.org/documents/LibQual/publications/2013/9th_Northumbria_Conference_Proceedings.pdf

24. Revocable Rights
For example, this Simon &
Schuster license:
Simon and Schuster grants you a
limited, personal, non-
exclusive, revocable, non-
assignable, and non-transferable
license to view, use, and/or play
a single copy of the Materials
and download one copy of the
Materials on any single computer
for your personal, non-
commercial, home use only
www.simonandschuster.com/about/terms_of_use
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml

25. Revisions, whether
you like it or not
From the Random House
license with library resellers:
RH reserves the right, at any
time … to replace, edit or
modify the contents of any RH
eBook.
www.randomhouse.biz/booksellers/pdfs/eBooksLibraryTOS121
0.pdf
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml

26. Confidentiality
Hamaker, C. (2011). Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries, Searcher, 19(10). Online at
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml

27. Archiving
Image courtesy of maverick2003 on flickr

28. Yet, we continue to go
down the journal
pathway
Perpetual licenses - 74%
Subscription licenses - 71%
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog. Online at
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-
here/

29. But if libraries don’t
care, why should the
publishers?
Polanka, S. (2011). Library Journal Published Library eBook Survey Results. No Shelf Required blog. Online at
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/2011/02/09/library-journal-publishes-library-ebook-survey-results-sample-data-
here/
Courtesy orgmonkey at stripgenerator. Online at
http://s3.amazonaws.com/stripgenerator/strip/90/68/14/00/00/full.png

30. A major trend is the
adoption of the
platform and not the
purchasing decisions of
colleges and universities
Dewan, P. (2012). Are books becoming extinct in academic libraries? New Library World, 113(1/2), pp. 27-37.

31. With the ubiquity of
mobile devices, e-Books
are expected to replace
print volumes
Dewan, P. (2012). Are books becoming extinct in academic libraries? New Library World, 113(1/2), pp. 27-37.
Image from Steve Rhodes used under a Creative Commons license.

32. Acceptance of e-Books
has reached a level
where they have
become an important
library service
Shelbourne, W. A. (2009). E-book usage in an academic library: User attitudes and behaviors. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical
Services, 33(2–3), pp. 59–72.

33. There is a need for
libraries to raise
awareness about the
e-Books they offer and
how they offer them
Ashcroft, L. (2011). Ebooks in libraries: an overview of the current situation. Library Management, 32(6-7), pp. 398-407.

34. Q&A
Frank Cervone
Principal, Cervone and Associates, LLC
fcervone@cervone.com