Additional buying models, different publishing models and the value that tools and special features add to content were some of the topics on August 27, when the San Andreas Chapter convened a panel of ebook publishers and aggregators.
"The Book is Digital" attracted over 50 people for a buffet meal and evening program. The "no Powerpoint" panel discussion was led by Jean Bedord, incoming Program Director for the San Andreas Chapter of SLA. She noted that her San Jose State University library school students still prefer the print form of books, even though they are enrolled in a distance education program with primarily digital materials.
The Library...
The discussion began with our own Helen Josephine, Head Librarian at the Engineering Library of the Terman Engineering Center at Stanford, talking about implementation of a "bookless" engineering library. The initiative is driven by the university president's mandate to increase access to information 24 x 7, while reducing physical items consuming scarce campus space. University funding and availability of ebooks in the science and engineering disciplines are key to her success, as well as Stanford's very successful migration to ejournals. Helen shared survey results which showed that while 49% of students and faculty preferred print books, 81% of students using the online course management system preferred electronic access, and 75% preferred reading articles and books online, rather than printing them out. This is the future for students, faculty and employees.
Helen noted that buying ebooks requires the involvement of lawyers, unlike traditional book buying. Each agreement has different terms and conditions, some based on the vendor's business model and other terms dictated by traditional print publishers whose content is being aggregated into the ebook service. Ebooks also require changes in workflow for acquisitions and cataloging. Findability is a major issue, so ebooks must be included in the main catalog, yet function using links to a vendor's external site.
The Ebook Vendors...
Managing multiple ebook vendors is one of Helen's ongoing challenges, with different content and interfaces for each vendor. Users may prefer one interface over another, so the library may duplicate content across platforms. Stanford's vendors included all of the speakers on the panel, in addition to other . . .
major publishers such as Wiley and Elsevier. Each vendor was invited to briefly describe their positioning:
* Knovel, represented by Barbara Wassermann, EVP, is a productivity tool that builds on a collection of aggregated electronic books from science and engineering disciplines. The Knovel process essentially chunks up the content, significantly improving the findability of individual pieces of content and providing better answers.
* Safari Books Online, represented by Dennis Kilian, SVP Business Development, is positioned as a distributor of digital books to the tech market. Their agreements with the parent company, O'Reilly, plus Pearson, Wiley and Microsoft cover 92% of the computer market, so their digital library is quite complete. Their content includes not just electronic versions of print books available through the usual book channels, but also multimedia and code, plus quickly published Rough Cuts content.
* Morgan & Claypool, represented by Michael Morgan, President & CEO, is the "publisher of the future," with "born digital" books -- originally called lectures to distance the format from ebooks per se. They recruit authors for specific subject areas, and create content that fits the subject, which can be as short as 50 pages, and include multimedia or Javascript code. Print on demand is part of their business model, but a small percentage of their revenue. Their publishing model is extremely flexible, allowing continuous updating. This, however, poses additional challenges in cataloging editions and maintaining references, basics of library science.
What's Happening?
Responding to audience questions, the conversation covered many aspects. The ebook landscape has changed dramatically in the last 6 to 12 months. The economic downturn has had an negative impact on library funding. All the vendors are focused on making buying easier for librarians, introducing more flexible buying models and improving workflow capabilities. Licensing models have expanded: subscription, perpetual access, archiving, deep archiving, limited seats, unlimited, use in course management, print selective, print all, sharing content on campus with international partners. Increasingly, electronic products are being used to replace print products following the ejournal models, with access across time zones and distance, and providing additional capabilities.
Technically, many of the library wish list capabilities are now available.Interfaces are more user-friendly. Embedded video is part of some products, as is improved internal linking. Downloadability and print on demand is available, though these do not have the richness of the online environment.
Some issues are inherent. Each vendor has their own interface, tuned to their market, but it's the same old challenge of learning a different system. Rights remain problematic, with no good answers for digital rights management. Aggregators still have to convince conservative print publishers that electronic access won't cannibalize print revenue, their mainstay.
So what is the future of the "book"? As publishers, Morgan & Claypool and Safari Books Online are looking at ways to facilitate conversations about topics, starting with the author, but ultimately the community, to keep the knowledge up-to-date. But how do these conversations fit into libraries. librarians and library science? Stay tuned.
The Computer History Museum...
In addition to dinner and the ebooks discussion, earlybirds were treated to a tour of the Computer History Museum, which included a unique look behind the scenes at the work areas of the Museum's archivist team. As people arrived, we had time for a look at the magnificent Difference Engine No. 2 designed by Charles Babbage, and finally built 153 years later by researchers at the Science Museum in London. It is an important piece of computing history and an idea referenced often in science fiction -- now made real. Through the generosity of Nathan Myhrvold, this full scale, 5 ton computing machine is on display in the Museum lobby through the end of 2009.
Paula Jabloner, Director of Collections, was our guide for the "backstage" portion of the tour. She walked us through the path taken by an artifact coming into the Museum. Then she and her team got out the white gloves and showed us some of the pieces in the archives: a rare vinyl recording of IBM songs; the Leisure Suit Larry software; an ad for the Computer Space video arcade game featuring (inexplicably) a woman wearing a nightgown; a very small reference book from Gordon Bell's rare book collection. These artifacts and all the Museum's content -- hardware, photographs, moving images, software, marketing materials and other ephemera, and documents are indexed in the catalog, which is available to the public from the CHM website.
Jim Somers, Manager of the CHM volunteer program, took the SLAers on part two of their tour, a whirlwind visit to the Visible Storage exhibit. This large space is divided into several chronological groupings that feature over 600 machines and artifacts. Jim gave an introduction to the collection, pointing out the selection of vintage PCs, the DEC PDP-1 (restored to working order!), the sprawling IBM System/360, and the one-of-a-kind Kitchen Computer offered for sale in the 1969 Neiman Marcus catalog. The collection also includes abacuses, a Hollerith punch card machine, World War II era machines as well as arcade games and even robots. For many of us, it's a trip down memory lane, and well worth a follow-up visit for a self- or docent-led tour.
Whether or not you joined us on August 27, consider visiting this Silicon Valley treasure on your own. Admission to the Computer History Museum is free. For details about hours, location, and exhibits, check their website here. Thanks very much to Paula, Jim and the entire CHM staff for making us feel welcome!
One last time, thanks to our sponsors for this event: Morgan & Claypool, Knovel, and CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group).
If you are interested in following up with vendors on the panel, you may contact Debbie Hodges dhodges AT knovel DOT com, Michael Jones jones AT morganclaypool DOT com, or Paige Mazzoni pmazzoni AT safaribooksonline DOT com, Leslie Lees leslie AT ebrary DOT com.
-- Jean Bedord & Patricia Parsons
Program Directors, San Andreas Chapter
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