E-books, Literacy, Devices,
and School Libraries
@noshelfrequired
Sue
Polanka
Wright
State
University
Libraries
No Shelf
Required®
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Purchasing eBooks
See Library Technology Reports, Nov/Dec issue
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Topics of Conversation
 Purchasing eBooks



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Business Models, Licensing, and Access
Consortia/District Purchasing
Evaluating Vendors & Budgeting
Challenges for Libraries
 eReaders and 1:1 Purchasing
 Stats on school libraries
 Format and DRM issues
 Challenges for libraries
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
School Libraries with Ebooks
33%
2010
44%
2011
40%
2012
Source: Library Journal Survey of Ebook Penetration in School Libraries
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Rule #1
You’re not just buying content
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Content in a Container
Software/Interface
DRM
Biz Model
eBook
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Do you want to..
Build
Access
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Business Models & Licensing
 Free
 Perpetual Access




Single User (checkout)
Multi User
Unlimited Use
Patron Driven
Access or
build a
collection?
 Subscriptions
 Short-term Loan
Ongoing
Fees?
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
The content you want
determines the vendor,
business model, license,
and format you will get.
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
eBook Access Levels
Perpetual Access
Files sent to library
Perpetual Access
Fees paid up front
Public
Domain
Subscription
Locally
Hosted
Limits
On
Circulation
Perpetual Access
No Fees
Open
Access
Short
Term
Loan or
Rentals
Perpetual Access
Ongoing Fees
Locally
Hosted
DRM
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Free ebook collections for
children’s books
 Big Universe
 Book Glutton
 International Children’s
Digital Library (need
account)
 Children’s Books Online
 Magic Keys
 Classic Reader
 Project Gutenberg
 Fiction.us
 Read Print
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Free - In Library Lending
 Internet Archive
 Hosted on Open Library
 Pool of 100K ebooks
 1000 libraries
 20th Century titles
 Donate one book to the program to join
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Consortial/District Purchasing
+’s
 More content, less money
 Consistency across libraries
 Share content
 One license
 Centralized tech/billing
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Consortial/District Purchasing
+’s
 More content, less money
 Consistency across libraries
 Share content
 One license
 Centralized tech/billing
-’s
 Publishers don’t necessarily
want shared collections
 Long process
 Less control of
content/platform selection
 Negotiating the multiplier
 Higher holds ratios
 Cafeteria plans
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Evaluating Vendors
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Evaluating Vendors
 Find your content first
 Evaluation Matrix - bit.ly/f0z7UP or bit.ly/mY8Azy
 Business Models available
 Level of access desired
 User Interface features
 DRM/restrictions
 Statistics/Use Data
 Support
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Sample Evaluation Matrix
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Chart courtesy of University of California Irvine Libraries
Challenges for Libraries
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Challenges for libraries
 Is content available for purchase?
 Formats
 Owning content vs. leasing content
 DRM/Licensing restrictions
 Budgeting & sustainable business models
 Accessibility
 Digital Divide
 Archiving/Preserving
 Multiple interfaces
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Budgeting
 What is the best practice?
 Reallocate existing funds
 List Cost and no discounts
 Weigh costs of purchase vs. subscribe
 Sustainable models
 Access Fees and ongoing costs?
 Start with pilot projects
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Current Ebook Budget for School
Libraries – (% of materials budget)
0%
1 - 2%
3 - 5%
6 - 10%
10%+
Source: Library Journal Survey of eBook Penetration and Use, 2011
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
5 Year Projected Ebook Budget
for School Libraries (% materials)
0%
1 - 2%
3 - 5%
6 - 10%
10%+
Source: Library Journal Survey of eBook Penetration and Use, 2011
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Accessibility
 Some eBooks are not accessible
 Most eReaders are not accessible
 HTML is the most accessible format
 DAISY de facto accessible eBook standard
 EPUB 3.0 has DAISY elements
 PDF – must be marked up, headings, structural elements
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Digital Divide
 NO Internet
 No Devices
 NO Computers
 NO Content
 NO Opportunity
 NO Fair
Image from: http://ahuschka.blogspot.com/2011/04/digital-divide.html
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
The future is already here–
its just not evenly
distributed.
William Gibson, The Economist, December, 2003
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Archiving/Perpetual Access
 How can we guarantee access to ebooks in the future?
 Who is responsible?
 Who owns the content?
 Portico, CLOCKSS, LOCKSS
 Cost for libraries
 Trigger events
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Multiple Platform Challenges
 Interface features
 DRM restrictions
 Number of users
 Compatible devices
 Training & troubleshooting
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Ereading Devices and 1:1
Purchasing
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
School Libraries who Circulate
Readers
6%
2010
17%
2011
Source: Library Journal Survey of eBook Penetration and Use, 2010-11
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Types of Devices School Libraries
Lend
80
70
60
50
S-2010
S-2011
40
30
20
10
0
Kindle
Nook
iPad
SONY
Other
Source: Library Journal Survey of eBook Penetration and Use, 2010-11
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Finding Content
 Online stores
 Amazon, Barnes & Noble, SONY Reader Store, Kobo, blio
 Free Collections
 Gutenberg, Internet Archive/Open Library, HathiTrust
 Free collections at online bookstores
 Google Books, Scribd
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Top Five Issues for Educators
 Platform Lock-in and lack of interoperability
 Administering Devices
 Availability of the titles students/teachers want
 Integration of the ebook catalog with the library catalog
 Cost of both devices and ebooks
Audrey Watters, School library Journal, Feb. 2012
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
DjVu
.djvu
eReader
.pdb
PDF
TXT
/RTF
EPUB
eBook
Formats
Microsoft
Reader .lit
BBeB
.lrf .lrx
MobiPocket
.prc .mobi
pdg
Daisy
AZW
Kindle
HTML
Libris
.lbr
KF8
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
DjVu
.djvu
eReader
.pdb
TXT
/RTF
EPUB
DRM
eBook
Formats
Microsoft
Reader .lit
AZW
Kindle
PDF
MobiPocket
.prc .mobi
Daisy
HTML
WOLF
.wol
BBeB
.lrf .lrx
Libris
.lbr
KF8
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Is there a standard?
 EPUB 3
 Not used consistently
 DRM can still be added
 Sony and iPad adopted
 Kindle – not compatible
 OverDrive has EPUB titles
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
The Walled Garden Effect
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Dedicated eReaders
 E-Ink
 Touch
Computers
 Laptops
 Netbooks
 Desktops
Tablet Devices
 iPad
 Kindle FIRE
 Nook Tablet
Mobile Phones
 iOS
 Android
 Windows
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Barnes and Noble Managed Digital
Locker
 Supports schools
 Purchase Orders for content
 B & N will:
 register devices,
 install accessories,
 download content
 http://theunquietlibrary.libguides.com/nooks
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Apple’s App Store Volume
Purchase Plan
 Only for iOS apps
 Program manager at your school
 Multiple facilitators
 Purchase volume vouchers
 Can sync multiple devices from one iTunes account
 Can’t use vouchers for iBooks??
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Resources

School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705

ALA Econtent -www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content

The Unquiet Librarian - theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/

Not So Distant Future – futura.edublogs.org/

No Shelf Required – www.noshelfrequired.com

ALA TechSource blog - www.alatechsource.org/blog

LJ/SLJ ebook Summit – www.thedigitalshift.com

Chicago Public Schools iPad forum groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/cpsipadlibrarians

iPad wikispace - mobilary.wikispaces.com/ipads

Raised Digital by Jeremy Breuck (Akron) -drupal.brueckei.org
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012
Questions?
sue.polanka@
wright.edu
Twitter
@noshelfrequired
noshelfrequired.com
Sue Polanka, WSUL & No Shelf Required, September 2012