Edlin
10-19-2004, 10:14 PM
Article (http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/cox/10cox.html)
Abstract
E-books are commonly perceived as offering great potential for learner support but also as struggling to compete with print due to poor on-screen presentation, restrictive licencing and limited range of titles offered. The experience of a group of Irish university libraries shows that, with the right combination of product and subjects, e-books can thrive among students and faculty, while librarians can create more dynamic, relevant and flexible collections than for print. Subscription management is demanding for libraries, however, and licencing issues remain highly problematic, representing a formidable obstacle to full exploitation.
Introduction
Online journals have firmly established themselves as essential resources for libraries and their users, but—despite the primacy of the book as an information source in most disciplines—electronic books (e-books) have not found the same favour. The potential of e-books to support learning activity has been acknowledged, and new services have emerged (and disappeared) in recent years, but uptake has been slow. Snowhill's overview [1] in the July/August 2001 issue of D-Lib Magazine noted that some elements key to the success of the e-books market were still taking shape, and this article, while primarily a case study, updates progress in many of these areas and reports actual user experience in academic libraries.
Other topics covered in article
Safari Tech Books Online
Managing a Library E-Book Subscription
Concurrent usage
Cost-effectiveness
Safari: the User Perspective
Safari versus Printed Books
Discussion
Conclusion
Article (http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/cox/10cox.html)
Abstract
E-books are commonly perceived as offering great potential for learner support but also as struggling to compete with print due to poor on-screen presentation, restrictive licencing and limited range of titles offered. The experience of a group of Irish university libraries shows that, with the right combination of product and subjects, e-books can thrive among students and faculty, while librarians can create more dynamic, relevant and flexible collections than for print. Subscription management is demanding for libraries, however, and licencing issues remain highly problematic, representing a formidable obstacle to full exploitation.
Introduction
Online journals have firmly established themselves as essential resources for libraries and their users, but—despite the primacy of the book as an information source in most disciplines—electronic books (e-books) have not found the same favour. The potential of e-books to support learning activity has been acknowledged, and new services have emerged (and disappeared) in recent years, but uptake has been slow. Snowhill's overview [1] in the July/August 2001 issue of D-Lib Magazine noted that some elements key to the success of the e-books market were still taking shape, and this article, while primarily a case study, updates progress in many of these areas and reports actual user experience in academic libraries.
Other topics covered in article
Safari Tech Books Online
Managing a Library E-Book Subscription
Concurrent usage
Cost-effectiveness
Safari: the User Perspective
Safari versus Printed Books
Discussion
Conclusion
Article (http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/cox/10cox.html)