ebooks

Academic Librarianship - change - ebooks

Money Money Money

September 12, 2012 by 0 Comments

We all know it’s budget crunch time. It has been for years. Libraries are constantly evaluating budgets in order to find enough funds to keep resources that we have, buy new ones and support both existing and new services. We keep hearing the adage: “Do more with less”. We just can’t do this anymore. By doing more with less, we set up expectations we just can not continue to provide. We burn out our staff and impact our users.

In the face of budget cuts, libraries need to start saying “Do less with less”. This, of course, needs to be done strategically. We need to find areas we can cut reasonably and yes, this may be felt by all.

What are libraries doing? There have been some interesting cases of libraries taking a stand against the publishers and vendors and the crazy fees libraries are often forced into paying. The library system that I grew up with, a very small library system, took a stand against outrageous ebook prices and stopped buying Random House ebooks. SUNY Potsdam examined the outrageous fees that the American Chemical Society charges and decided to walk away and move to a more sustainable solution.

These examples show libraries looking at their budget and realizing they just can’t do it all. They examined options and went with what they felt was best, both for their budget and their users. There are other ways libraries can make the budget work: evaluate services, discover the actual needs of the community and focus on those. Open access is slowly becoming a better option for resources. But in the end, we just can’t do it all. Understanding your community, talking with them, as SUNY Potsdam did with their faculty, and making informed decisions is key. Tough decisions will have to be made, but less money can not mean the same level of resources or services any longer.

Update: Seems another vendor has dramatically increased their prices. Hatchette is increasing their ebook prices over 220%. I hope libraries make noise!

ebooks - Uncategorized

A device for every occasion

November 21, 2011 by 0 Comments

There has been a lot of talk in the library world about ebooks and ebook readers and so it seemed timely to attend Crystal Rose’s Education Institute session on ebooks.

Ebook readers seem to be booming, with seemingly endless releases of new readers. (Once again, Canada loses out in the recent kindle ereader releases). It makes me consider my use of ereaders and really, it comes down to the occasion or the format I’m reading. I frequently read on my smartphone (at lunch, in bed when I can’t sleep), on my iPad (love reading journal articles on it), on my Sony touch (usually longer books), on the computer as required. Could one device do it all? At this point, I don’t think so and that’s because of the item. I read PDFs differently than a long book. Something I’m not spending much time on at a lunch doesn’t need to be as robust as something that I need to focus on.

As I drafted this, Penguin appears to have pulled out of the ebook game for libraries, removing their books from Overdrive while they reevaluate. This again raises questions on how libraries can be part of the ebook world. Ownership of content is a pressing issue and present licenses aren’t helping. Time and again I see the question “what is the future of ebooks in libraries” and with the constantly shifting arena, it seems to only be getting more problematic.

Update It seems Penguin has reversed the decision until the end of the year. More here.

ebooks - tech

The World of e-Readers

December 27, 2009 by 0 Comments

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. I got some new toys to play with, one of them being a Sony e-Reader. I have been playing with e-readers for a little while now, though not in any professional or scholarly way. I thought I would use this post to do a very brief comparison of the e-readers I’ve played with so far.

I suppose my first run in with e-readers is through my own library. We offer an increasing number of ebooks, some which require specific software to be installed in order to read. I must admit, I have yet to be impressed by this software. I find many of the programs used on computers very clunky. If this was my only introduction to e-books, I think I would be hard pressed to see a  rosey future for e-reading.

My next introduction came through my iphone. I installed both the Kindle e-reader and the Barnes and Noble reader. I will admit that I did not use these for quite some time. I’m not sure what the impetus was for finally starting to play with them – perhaps it was finding sites that allowed me to download books in iphone format. Perhaps it was the fact that I always have my phone on me. I found myself going out in the summer with my lunch and forgetting my book – but then I remembered I could still read! I used the iphone for reading quite a bit in the summer and was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading from it.

Both readers have advantages and disadvantages. Lately I find myself leaning towards the Barnes and Noble but this could change on a whim. Both readers function quite similarly and are quite intuitive. Pages turn very smoothly and easily with a tap or a swipe, there is a built in dictionary, the page can be reorientated according to how it is held, bookmarking is easily done by turning down the corner of a page and there is a night screen (most handy for reading in bed without disturbing  anyone). The Barnes and Nobel reader also provides internal links for sites which offer more books for their reader, which is incredibly handy.

For Christmas, I was spoiled with a PRS-600 from Sony (for a great comparison of e-reader privacy, check out this site from the EFF). I quite like the size of this e-reader, it is relatively light and sleek. I am impressed with the screen – it really doesn’t feel like reading from a screen (except for the glare). It does have a more natural feel to the screen/page. I love the fact that I was able to immediately (once I downloaded the reader software) load 30 books on it.

I had certain expectations from this e-reader thanks to the iPhone, especially since this is a touch e-reader. I expected smoother  page turning. I set it up to swipe pages like my iphone, assuming I would use it this way. Since I’ve started reading, I find it is more natural for me to use the buttons to move the pages than the swipe, as this is where my hands are anyway.  Bookmarking takes an extra step on the Sony reader but is still available, as is a dictionary feature, highlighting and notes (all available features on the iphone readers). So far I’m generally happy with my Sony reader. I can take notes with it using a keyboard (again, similar to the iphone so an easy transition) or by hand using the stylus. It also stores audio and photos, which I have not used yet. I have not had any books yet with graphics or complicated illustrations, so I’m not sure how this reader will handle them yet.

So, what does this mean for my reading habits? I still love my physical books. I love the tactile aspect of reading and my favourite books will still have a space on my bookshelf. I do love to have my books surrounding me. What I suspect will happen is that I won’t be buying a physical copy unless I really enjoy the book. I may start with an e-book version and then decide to make the extra investment, both monetary and physical space, in a “real” copy of the book. The whole notion of “real” vs. “virtual” books is an interesting one I may come back to at another time. There are limitations to ebooks (can’t take them in a bath, what happens if there is no power), so they won’t be my sole means of reading. I doubt I will be able to walk out from a bookstore without purchasing a book, but I may come out with one and a list of others for downloading.

The e-readers offer other advantages though. I have 30 books on one device ! This will make travelling much easier. I suspect that I will still be using both the iphone readers and the Sony. The latter will likely be my primary e-reader, used for longer books or books I am particularly interested. The iphone will likely be for more casual reading – books I am in no hurry to read or which don’t take much concentration. As I almost always have my phone on me, it will be the device I turn to when i have forgotten my other reader.

I am waiting for e-books to catch up to my desires. I’d like to see the Sony with an option for night reading, and wireless access. I think I’d also like to see some kind of screen saver for it. I have walked away and it has been there waiting for me, which in a way makes it feel more like a physical book, but I fear burning the screen. Wireless access and e-readers also makes a lot of sense to me. Not only can books have built in dictionaries, you could include links to related information. A knitting pattern book could link out to a YouTube video showing how to do the stitch. I think there is still a lot of potential for e-reading and will be interested to see how this develops.

Maybe not such a brief comparison, but it is still in my early days of playing with and discovering potential in e-readers. The Kindle only recently started selling in Canada, but if you use one and love/hate it, lemme know!