 home > public2001 > 2001 Public Libraries Conference paper |
|||
2001 Public Libraries ConferenceFollow the eBook road: eBooks in Oz public libraries
Sue Hutley, Electronic services librarian, Toowoomba City Library This workshop will aim to update participants on happenings in the eBook industry, provide information on Australian libraries trialling the technology and a study tour of the United States conducted in April/May 2001. Predictions and possibilities about how eBooks and eBook readers will be integrated into public libraries over the next few years will be discussed. Library staff who are considering integrating eBook technologies into their library will be most interested in this workshop. IntroductionElectronic books (eBooks) are just that, electronic versions of print books. However, the book may have not been available as a print book and may have only been published as an eBook. The electronic version may also not identical to the print version, as it can have many bonus electronic features that are not possible with a print book. To confuse the definition however, 'electronic book' is also the term commonly given to the physical hand-held reading devices used to read eBooks on. Ebooks can also be read on-line on PC's, laptops and downloaded on to Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's ). Electronic books have been available for several years in the library environment. They have been discussed vigorously by library staff keen to adopt new technology that improves information access to library users. Unfortunately, at this stage, the eBook technology is still evolving and can be cumbersome. Many companies are involved in eBook development and each have proprietary systems, thus there is a lack of standardisation. Ebooks are currently expensive, and the content is primarily American. Despite these negatives, it is still worth pursuing eBooks as the technology does offer some unique features. These features include:
This group of papers discusses the American Libraries' experiences of eBooks and, more importantly, the Australian projects that some libraries have begun in the eBook field. Following the freeway - the American experienceBy: Pam Saunders, resources librarian, Yarra Plenty Regional Library, In 2000 I was fortunate to receive the Barrett Reid Scholarship from the State Library of Victoria to research eBooks and their impact on Victorian libraries. I am a librarian currently responsible for Children's and Youth Resources and project manager eBooks at Yarra Plenty Regional Library. The Barrett Reid Scholarship enabled me to travel to the USA in May 2001 to investigate companies involved in eBook production, particularly netLibrary. I also visited public and academic libraries that were using various forms of eBooks. Primarily, the American libraries I visited had introduced eBooks through either the NetLibrary model and/or by lending hand-held reading devices such as Rocket or Softbooks. Generally, they received special grants or funding to enable these projects to commence. NetLibrary are an aggregator that provides PC based eBooks for Public, Academic and special libraries. NetLibrary offers non-fiction titles from a wide range of publishers and a small collection of Publicly Accessible Titles (titles that are out of copyright). NetLibrary is not aimed at trade publisher's titles. At this stage, they are the only company that offer libraries a relatively simple, complete package of eBooks that can be easily integrated into library collections. Many US Libraries join a consortium as their first step into eBooks using netLibrary. The content is primarily American and initially sounds expensive (especially when converted to $AUS). A title must be purchased at full print cost plus an access fee of 9 per cent of the cost per year, or 50 per cent of the cost for perpetual access. Libraries agree to purchase a minimum collection number. There are issues of distribution rights, with some titles unavailable for purchase in Australia, although this is rapidly changing, and some titles unavailable for consortium purchase. Most of the libraries in the USA I visited that were using netLibrary, had done so for less than 18 months, and were still in the evaluation/trial stage. American libraries were also trialing various ebook readers. Content on the eBook readers was, however, different to that of netLibrary titles. Device titles tended to be fiction or biographies, more the trade publications. The average number of devices purchased by a library was eight. The libraries expressed frustration with the initial time it took to introduce and manage either eBook model. There was always a steep learning curve, however, all claimed long term it had been of benefit to the library. The netLibrary model was the most favoured as it provided better service for the library users. Once established, the professional nature of the netLibrary reports meant that there was little maintenance of the collection. The reading device model however, provided the best public relations. Library users continually commented on how innovative the libraries were and how pleased they were to have the opportunity to try out eBook readers. However, unlike netLibrary, eBook devices required continual staff time to manage and maintain them. It is difficult and expensive, particularly, staff wise, to continually provide new titles for the readers. Yarra Plenty Regional Library purchased a Softbook reader in mid 2000. Initially it was downloaded with three contemporary titles, and a selection of out of print titles. It was used for demonstrations to the staff and public. Public sessions were run at all branches across various times, and they attracted an average of eight participants, most of whom were older adults. There was much enthusiasm and requests to borrow the device. This was followed by several months of loaning the device to staff. It was decided to conduct the trial using the device at one branch for short loans within the library for one hour. A six-month subscription to the Wall Street Journal was purchased and each morning staff downloaded the Wall Street Journal. Initially, three journals were to be downloaded on a daily basis, but the subscription system changed. Journals had to be paid for daily, US$1 per day, as this was impractical even with a corporate credit card. The previous book titles were maintained on the device. Library users responded positively and also expressed the desire to take it home for a longer period. Loans, however, were not high and the Softbook was returned to staff loan and demonstration use on my return from America. We are currently trailing it with our some of our Home Services borrowers. There are limitations to what a library can do with only one reader device. It has, however, been most successful as a public relations and an educational tool. Yarra Plenty Regional Library has also secured funding from the Victorian State Government to introduce netLibrary. At the time of writing investigations are underway with other public libraries to form a National consortium of netLibrary users. I am extremely excited by the prospect that eBook technology will enable the first true national public library. At this stage, we plan to build the collection around the research needs of young adults. Reference books such as study guides will be selected. Ebook technology suits such books, as they do not generally need to be read cover-to-cover, nor loaned for extensive lengths of time. The ability to search by keyword through a whole text is also of benefit. In Australia, other libraries are also beginning to trial netLibrary, sometimes reluctantly when the lack of Australian content is assessed. My recommendation is that libraries join consortiums to share the initial experiences and expand the collection on offer. This is one of the benefits of netLibrary, it is the ultimate ILL system. I would recommend further that eBook devices be introduced into libraries for staff to use and be familiar with. They could also be used in demonstrations to the public. Libraries, which are able to successfully gain extra funding for device lending, would benefit also from trailing lending programs. The potential of these devices with the print handicapped may mean serious consideration should be given to using them within Home Services. WebsiteThis paper is a summary of my previous paper, Ebooks in Victorian libraries: findings from the USA, available at: http://www.libraries.vic.gov.au/infonet/ebooks/ The Shorelink Library Network - EBooks: a novel format for librariesBy: Mylee Joseph, manager, outreach services, Willoughby City Library, mylee.joseph@willoughby.nsw.gov.au Shorelink as a library network has been delivering co-operative service to the communities of Lane Cove, Manly, Mosman, North Sydney and Willoughby Councils since 1983. The Network has been successful in a number of co-operative ventures and grant applications, and applied for a Library Development Grant through the State Library of NSW in 2000, and was awarded $60370 to conduct the eBooks project. The objective was to conduct a pilot project investigating the use of eBook technology in the public library environment. Particular emphasis was placed on library patrons' readiness to accept this technology and their level of satisfaction with the format. As there are a number of different hardware and software technologies in the marketplace, a choice was made to focus on two representative examples. The project trialled both models of eBooks:
NetlibraryThere are a variety of business models used by electronic book publishers. They vary widely in target market, pricing schemes and the place of the library within the distribution model. The project team considered several models eg. Questia (http://www.questia.com) and ebrary (http://www.ebrary.com). These products focus on the school/student market and pay per use or subscription models with no place for the public library in the equation, and were not suitable for the project. Netlibrary, however, is designed for library use and as the most appropriate model was chosen for use in the Shorelink trial. The Shorelink libraries share a common bibliographic database and the addition of more than 400 Netlibrary titles to the database provides 24/7 remote access to texts. Netlibrary also allows tracking of usage patterns which provides valuable data for assessing the usefulness and acceptance of the titles. SoftbooksThe Softbook eBooks were chosen primarily because they were available in the Australian marketplace, and had support available in Australia. The project committee considered this of primary importance in ensuring the smooth running of the project. In the months since the grant was awarded new models of eBooks continue to emerge in the marketplace, however the Softbooks have proved reliable, if quite heavy for continuous use. WebsiteWe received enquiries almost as soon as the project began, from colleagues in other libraries and overseas. It rapidly became necessary to have information about the project readily available and the website was created at http://www.shorelink.nsw.gov.au and provides the following information: a project summary, updates and news as the project progresses, links to the suppliers and other libraries circulating eBooks, contacts and operational documentation. There are a number of quite practical documents available via the website including a checklist used when each Softbook reader is issued, the loan agreement patrons are required to sign and the user survey that is distributed with each loan. As one of the goals of the project was to share the findings with other libraries the website allowed this to happen during the project. MarketingFrom the outset, the project included funding for marketing strategies. Introducing a new service to a library is not unusual, but as these new resources were largely 'invisible' to anyone entering the library a variety of strategies were employed. These included commercially designed posters and flyers, the eBooks website, links on individual library websites (each of the Shorelink libraries operates independently), media releases for the official launch, a network-wide launch held at Manly Library with the state librarian Dagmar Schmidmaier officiating. Surveying customer satisfactionOne of the stated aims of the pilot project was to determine the levels of customer readiness and satisfaction with the new technology. In order to measure this a survey was distributed with each eBook loaned. Patrons were asked to fill in the survey and return it with the eBook. The survey questions included:
One of the survey questions sought people who were willing to participate in focus groups to discuss the technology and its use in the library environment. At the time of writing these focus groups had yet to be held. It is too early to determine the success of the project, but as more information is gathered it will be available via the website and will be written up for journals. Project websiteFor updates on the Shorelink Library eBook Project see http://www.shorelink.nsw.gov.au The eBook Road in Toowoomba - a gravel road full of stonesBy: Sue Hutley, electronic services librarian, Toowoomba City Library, s.hutley@toowoomba.qld.gov.au Starting out on the road ... The eBook industry was in its infancy in the year 2000 but great predictions were being made as to the potential and take up of this new technology. The growing information available about eBooks circulating amongst the library profession began to capture my imagination as to the possibilities of this new technology, especially hand-held readers for libraries. As an Electronic Services Librarian it was part of what could be my future and I did not want us to be left behind. In September 2000 the ebooknet.com website was conducting a competition in which two libraries would each win 10 Rocket eBook readers. My winning entry proposed that the readers would be distributed to ten South-East Queensland library services and that we would meet as a group on a regular basis to discuss our progress with eBooks. The ten library services received their Rocket eBooks at a presentation on 16th November 2000. At this point everyone was quite positive about ebooks and the potential for the future was often discussed. Members of the media asked the question of whether eBooks would eventually replace real books in libraries. Others within the community offered other suggestions for situations where eBook readers could be useful. At the same time that we were receiving our readers from the ebooknet.com competition, the Toowoomba City Library was also submitting an application to expand our world of eBooks by applying for an Innovation Grant from the Library Board of Queensland. This proposal was also successful and our grant project entitled 'Libraries, eBooks and the Future' began in April 2001. The project would enable us to purchase four types of readers : REB1100's, REB1200's, eBookmans and Rocket eBooks, to be lent to our different customer bases and we would then examine the feedback from these customer groups and from library staff. Following the Hype Curve ...The Gartner Group has developed a Hype Curve for new technologies and our eBook project has very much followed this curve. Gartner Hype Curve
Getting the readers into our hands was the first major task. With the only Australian eBook supply company not yet importing REB's from Gemstar, we had to source them directly from the United States and we did this with the help of Peter Pal Library Supplier in Brisbane. We also engaged Peter Pal to undertake the purchasing of eBook titles as our Council does not have a credit card. Peter Pal was also entrusted with loading the software and the book titles as the PC requirements for the eBookmans included Windows 2000 software, which the Toowoomba City Council does not support. The REB1100's and eBookman Readers arrived just a few days before our launch date during Australian Library and Information Week in May 2001. The readers did not yet have the current software required and therefore no bestseller titles could be loaded onto them at that time. We were at the Peak of Inflated Expectations. At the same time that we received the readers for the launch the Gemstar website shut down for overseas customers, therefore not allowing us access to software downloads. It was an optimistic thought that this would be corrected in a few days, or even a couple of weeks and that we would soon be able to access their website and begin loading our software, titles and lending to customers. Unfortunately the reality was that we were just too optimistic. We endured months of hopefulness, countless emails, phone calls to the United States by Steven Pal, download attempts and many failures via international phone lines, and finally success - on September 27th - five months later - our REB1100's returned from Peter Pal, working and with bestseller titles on them. While the Toowoomba Library finally began lending the REB1100's to customers during October 2001, the Trough of Disillusionment still continues as we are still awaiting the return of working REB1200's and eBookmans from Peter Pal. Of the plethora of frustration factors that we have experienced with this project two of the major ones have been:
Other frustrations and problems are listed on our project website. The experience of other Australian public librariesTwo other Queensland libraries were able to source their eBook readers a couple of months before us and they have had a more positive experience. Maroochy Shire Libraries now have 4 REB1100's, 1 Softbook Reader and 1 Rocketbook and the Toowong Branch of Brisbane City Libraries have 20 REB1100's for loan. These libraries were able to get software and titles loaded before the Gemstar website was shut down. Reports from their experiences can be found at the QULOC website http://www.quloc.org.au which were presented at an eBook seminar in Brisbane in September 2001. Recommendations for Australian Public LibrariesIn short, our experience has been one of total frustration - from the inaccurate sales pitch of what the readers can actually do, to the lack of recognition by the big eBook companies that customers may live outside the United States. At this stage I would not be recommending that Australian Public Libraries take the leap into handheld eBook readers, especially if they do not have appropriate staff to support them. However, with the establishment of a committed Australian eBook reader supplier in the Adelaide company Einfosolutions, and the coming of additional products such as the Microsoft Tablet in 2002 it is still important that libraries keep a close watch on developments that could change and improve how eBook readers can be integrated into library services. The eBook industry changes weekly and we must ensure that libraries are not left behind when the wave finally comes. WebsiteTo see how our project progresses in the future please visit our project website http://www.toowoomba.qld.gov.au/Visitors/Library/Ebookproject/index.html
|
|
