Discussion for June: e-books and the future of technical services

We currently subscribe to JSTOR, OED, Philip Allan Magazine Archive, Cambridge Companions, The Times, The Economist, New Scientist, Student BMJ, Philosophy Now and Grove Art Online.

We have an Overdrive collection. We bought it because it was the only one that integrated with our library management system, however, it never worked that way. We provided access via the Overdrive platform but it still seemed really hard to engage the students with it. I did wonder at this point if it was worth the expense.

They have now brought out the Sora app which looks good, is easy to use and our students love it. We have created library cards just for our ebook collection and we are seeing a massive uptake. We do expect this to reduce but it is a great start. It is important to give students a choice and I am glad we stuck with it.

We have access to two eBook platforms : Wheelers and Overdrive. And the Sora app as well. I don't have access to the usage data for either of the platforms but I guess I could request that information.

Re promotion : our LMS OPAC allows for embedding links on the home page as well as a Google slide show. The old version did not have this. So now we can link to each of the eBook platforms directly. And I create slides, which are put into the slide show on the site, to promote a selection of eBooks, audio books and read-alongs.

I have also created QR codes to both eBook platforms, printed, and taken up to class spaces where they are displayed in a common area for easy access by students and teachers. We have had staff PD on the Ebooks platform which got a lot of staff excited.

My next step is to get the link onto the school website and start speaking to parents - a project for next year.

e-books are hugely expensive in comparison to physical books. If they are being used then it is worth spending the money. However we do need to keep promoting them as they do get forgotten about unlike the physical book that can be seen.

Ummmmmm, I am not so sure about the value for money as I don't have data. But I do like the fact that audio books and read-alongs offer students alternatives to the traditional print format. Both these options would assist struggling students with developing their literacy and building their confidence. eBooks also offer students/readers the ability to annotate and find definitions of words.

I was aware of the licensing issues as I am the person who buys our ebooks. However, not everyone know this and trying to explain to teachers why we can't supply an e-book version is sometimes difficult.

I was/am aware of the licensing issues - it is something we looked at when I did the Diploma in LIS (about 5 years ago)

And this is why I don't like eBooks personally - when I purchase a print book it's all mine till the ends of time :) :)

I think we definitely do. Students are often referred to as digital natives and I certainly used to have the assumption that they would be more confident navigating e-resources than printed ones. However I have found this really isn't the case and as a result have started running sessions on how to navigate the library world online as well as in the physical space. A lot of our students are more apprehensive about using e-resources, especially databases like JSTOR, as they try once and find it hard to navigate as they don't instinctively use advanced search options. That is a large part of my guidance when talking through e-resources with them, that tools like the index and contents page of a book are still there albeit in a slightly different format.

It is easy to forget that just because they have skills at using technology they do not have the skills of research which is essential for higher education and work. I saw a funny video the other day of two teenagers being given a dial phone to make a phone call (the one with the circular dial) They took 10mins to work it out... Not all skills are easily transferred.

I think that school libraries that only provide physical books are going to be left behind. I do think that it is important to have both and maybe the number of physical books will be reduced but still have an important place in school libraries.

My worry is that schools will buy online resources without the support of the school librarian and then the skills needed to access them will not be taught. School libraries should be the hub of all educational resources both physical and online.

I sure hope not!!!

A couple of years ago, a new school in our system decided not to purchase any printed non-fiction material for their students - after all, they had access to digital resources. Less than two moths later, there was a mad scramble to buy print books.

I think there has to be a healthy balance between the two mediums. Students learn the basics and build their foundations with print and then move to using digital media. And as

I found it tedious to read and couldn’t really relate. I think it was talked mostly of academic libraries. I did not engage as well as with the previous chapter , as I did not find anything new and useful.

Hello again

I have never tried to loan out e-readers and I can imagine the problems with getting them back. I feel that if you are offering platforms to access from the library it is maybe better to offer extended opening hours rather than a device. This way the student gains access and support if needed. Do any of you

We don't offer this service. Most students have devices these days anyway. We extend the hours on Thursdays so if we did start to offer e-books I could use this time to instruct any interested parties in how to get the most out of their e-books.