eBook Plans were discussed at the Collection Development meetings in 2012. Notes from the minutes indicate the content of the discussion and follow up steps:
September 26, 2012
October 23, 2012
E-books—Sherre referenced the University of Iowa study, “Give ‘em what they want” as a model for how we may want to move forward in continuing and assessing our ebook program. Discussed if we are going to continue as is or place any additional limitations? Sherre’s students will compile data on ebooks from EBL so that we can replicate what Iowa did. We will add ebrary’s individual subscription and explore whether other limitations such as limiting content to scholarly or English only is necessary. Jeremy will look to see what all the original limitations are.
A subcomittee of the Collection Development Group was formed in 2010-2011 to review options for adding e-books to Memorial LIbrary's collections, and to recommend action to the larger group. Members of the subcommittee were Elizabeth Andrejasich (chair), Judy Thompson, and Jessica Yates.
Collection Development Minutes, February 22, 2011
Negotiations of the EBL and Ebrary subscriptions/licenses continued through the spring and into summer. We decided to place no limitations on the books made available to Berry students, faculty, and staff, but to monitor expenses and use for future decisions. In July 2011 we learned that it would not be possible to have demand-driven acquisitions with both simultaneously, so we proceeded with seting up DDA with EBL and initiated a direct purchase agreement with Ebrary.
Colection Development Minutes, August 23, 2011
EBL & Ebrary
In October 2011 we distributed email announcments to students, faculty and staff (links may not work):
Memorial Library now offers easy access to a significant number – over 30,000 – of recent academic and popular e-book titles via the EBL (Ebook Library) service.
If you’ve searched the online catalog during the past few weeks, you’ve probably begun to notice an increasing number of ebook titles on your results lists. You may also access these books directly: http://www.berry.eblib.com/EBLWeb/patron
You’ll be prompted for your Berry credentials (specifics are on the login screen) regardless of whether you’re on or off-campus -- unlike most electronic library resources, this service is limited to Berry users even on campus, so don’t be concerned by the log-in prompt.
The EBL interface preserves the physical layout of the print edition of a book, making using the e-book format very much the same as using a print copy. However, DRM restrictions on each ebook restrict the amount of content that you can print and copy when you read an ebook online and when you download ebooks for offline reading. You can download EBL content to your iPad or iPhone and read via the free Bluefire Reader app. Downloaded EBL ebooks can also be transferred to any portable ebook reader that supports Adobe Digital Editions (there's a list of these compatible devices on the ADE website).
We hope you find the expanded access useful, and welcome your thoughts as we respond to a widening array of user expectations, preferences, and understandings of what it means to “get” and “read” a “book”. And as always, I’m happy to answer questions or provide more information about this and other library resources and services –
regards,
Sherre Harrington
Memorial LIbrary purchased a first-generation Kindle eReader in 2008, but did not have a Library Amazon account that would allow institutional purchases until April 2011. Also in April 2011, Memorial Library purchased two new Kindles for circulation. In addition to pre-loading the Kindles with selected titles, we established a process for patrons to request Kindle titles and provided directions for patrons to register the device to their own Aamazon account in order to load titles.
In July 2011 we distributed an email notification to students, faculty and staff:
Looking for something to read? Consider checking out a Kindle ebook reader from Memorial Library. We’ve expanded the number of Kindles available for check out, the number of titles available, and the check-out period. And if we don’t have the title you want, you can request that we add it!
All current Berry ID holders can check out a Kindle for 4 weeks. There’s no renewal but if no one is waiting for a Kindle, you will be able to check it out again in person at the Circulation Desk. More questions? Want to request that we add a title? There’s more information at libguides.berry.edu/kindles.
Here is a list of books currently available on Memorial Library’s Kindles:
We purchased additional titles in July 2011, August 2012 (Southern Women Writers Conference authors), and occasionally afterwards.
In August 2014 the Technology, Systems, and Discovery Team took up the question of the future of the Kindles, recommending adding the Kindle app to circulating iPads and adding purchased titles to the app. They decided to look at the circulation records for the older Kindles for an idea on how they have been used in the past to help inform a decision on circulating them or not. They discussed including a question on a user survey on technology needs specifically to gauge the interest in the use of a Kindle and recommended purchasing one newer Paperwhite reader for circulation to make sure that the titles we have purchased are accessible.