This article follows‐up on an earlier Library Hi Tech article on the e‐book program at the University of Texas. It notes changes in usage that have occurred with the addition of…
Abstract
This article follows‐up on an earlier Library Hi Tech article on the e‐book program at the University of Texas. It notes changes in usage that have occurred with the addition of e‐book catalog records in the library online catalog, and changes in selection patterns as librarians have gained more experience with the e‐book. It also surveys the current digital information environment, notes the increasing commodification of information, details the e‐book efforts of the Association of American Publishers and examines potential future e‐book directions.
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This article describes the e‐book program of the University of Texas, surveys the state of the e‐book market and e‐book technology, provides e‐book usage statistics for three…
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This article describes the e‐book program of the University of Texas, surveys the state of the e‐book market and e‐book technology, provides e‐book usage statistics for three different consortia, and offers guidelines for e‐book acquisitions, as well as e‐book issues to be considered. Relevant specification, standards, and working groups are explained, as are the future e‐book plans of The University of Texas. The author concludes that e‐books are to printed books, as television is to radio and movies: another format with its own strengths and weaknesses.
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To identify levels of awareness and patterns of usage of electronic books by scholars in the humanities.
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Purpose
To identify levels of awareness and patterns of usage of electronic books by scholars in the humanities.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of the University of Denver community assessed knowledge about and usage of electronic books. The results for humanists are presented here.
Findings
Scholars in the humanities have a higher level of awareness of e‐books than their colleagues across campus but use e‐books at the same rate. Their patterns of use are different, with humanists using less of the e‐book than do other groups. Humanists still prefer printed books to electronic texts at a higher rate than do other groups and care less about added features, such as searchability, than they do about content.
Originality/value
Humanists conduct research differently than do most other scholars, using the library catalog and browsing as primary means of finding information, and valuing the book more than other resources. No previous research has assessed whether humanists have similarly unique patterns of usage for electronic books.
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Andrea R. Testi and Sever Bordeianu
Research at universities is becoming increasingly specialized and, at the same time, more interdisciplinary. In response to this paradox, academic libraries have tended to…
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Research at universities is becoming increasingly specialized and, at the same time, more interdisciplinary. In response to this paradox, academic libraries have tended to specialize along discipline lines by creating divisional libraries. The divisions typically offer reference and other library services to a focused clientele. This specialization leads to isolation and lack of communication among library departments, including separate, subject‐specific reference units. It also limits the versatility of staff. Staff exchange has been used in academic libraries to address some of these problems. It entails the utilization of a library's employees from one department performing tasks in another department.
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The purpose of this paper is to show how e‐book readers are used in an academic library setting.
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Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how e‐book readers are used in an academic library setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach takes the form of a literature review and e‐mail survey to academic library administrators.
Findings
Although the survey sample responding was not large, it was felt that it represented a microcosm of intelligent academic library administrators that might be involved in the eventual decision‐making process to acquire these devices for their libraries.
Research limitations/implications
It would have been better if the sampling were larger. It would also have been beneficial to get a sample involving students and faculty.
Practical implications
This is an interesting technology that has great potential for the future of book publishing and has great academic library possibilities.
Social implications
This is a possible paradigm shifting event.
Originality/value
This paper shows only the tip of the iceberg. There are much more data shortly yet to come about the novel uses this technology will present to academia.