Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
2011
Publisher
University of York
Abstract
In 2010, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Library agreed to take part in a global study of Elsevier electronic books (ebooks) sponsored by Elsevier Publishing. Ultimately, 129 UIUC faculty and graduate students participated in a logbook study that examined the ebook discovery process, detailed the way in which this group of researchers used ebooks, and queried users on the value they assigned to Elsevier ebooks. Going beyond the Elsevier survey, this study examines the value of ebooks both to UIUC users and to libraries, and it reports on an assessment of the ebook collection at UIUC including cost and use statistics. The results show that UIUC users assigned a high value to Elsevier ebooks for research purposes; this paper also determines that, in the broadest sense and as a collective format, ebooks offer libraries a better economic value than print books (pbooks) when comparing the cost of activities such as processing, circulation, storage and preservation.
Recommended Citation
Chrzastowski, Tina E., 2011. “Assessing the Value of Ebooks to Academic Libraries and Users.” University of York, Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services.
Comments
Preprint from the Proceedings of the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, 2011.