2015 Charleston Library Conference

Many libraries include eBooks in their catalog and book holdings, and report those holdings on “about the library” pages and to reporting agencies such as ACRL. Is it reasonable to report eBooks in the same way as physical holdings that libraries own and librarians can point to on a shelf? Yes, because users have access to them? Or no, because that access may be ephemeral (we are thinking particularly of large leased collections or PDA/DDA collection). Does reporting eBook collections artificially inflate library holdings? Should we differentiate “owned” eBooks, “leased” eBook collections and print books on holdings reports?

Publishers can add or withdraw titles from collections without notice, with no input from individual library subject selectors. What does that mean in term of permanent access and relevance to college curricula? What about uniqueness of library collections? How can vendors assist librarians in their selection and ordering process to reduce duplicate purchasing of content already owned or available via subscriptions or PDA/DDA. What about eBooks available to patrons via a consortium arrangement? How do we “weed” eBooks?

Finally, how students view the book chapters online? Do they treat these as journals or are they aware that these are coming from books.

We will share ideas from a librarian and vendor perspectives – but what are your thoughts? How do you handle and report eBooks and eBook records?