2015 Charleston Library Conference

E-books have been an integral part of library collections for a long time now, but they are still surrounded by controversy. How much our patrons really use them? That seemingly simple question has a very complicated answer that could depend on a number of factors. The e-books’ usage reports mean very little on their own and leave many unanswered questions.
In order to contextualize the usage statistics, the Claremont Colleges Library conducted an analysis of enhanced usage reports in comparison with the total offerings of e-book content available to our users from all major providers, and through all access models. The study aimed to measure turnover rates and shed light on what is not being used, gauge usage (and non-usage) patterns by subject area and publication year, as well as determine the impact, if any, of the different access models. In addition, we compared the subject composition and the age of the e-book collection to the print book collection, and analyzed the usage patterns in the two formats within calendar 2014.
This presentation will highlight the most important findings of the study and discuss their implications for future collection management.