As libraries plan their journey from print to eBook collections, they face a confusing array of routes to their destination. The choices facing libraries are seemingly as different as walking, taking the bus, or driving a car. EBooks for the health sciences are available in aggregated platforms such as Books@Ovid and Rittenhouse R2 Digital Library. Numerous health sciences books are scattered throughout general eBook vendors’ collections such as NetLibrary and eBrary. Still others are available on platforms that may require substantial subscription expenses, for example, MD Consult, STAT!Ref, or AccessMedicine.
Subscription vs. Purchase
Many publishers offer their eBooks through subscriptions. This model makes sense for annuals or regularly updated books, but it seems unreasonable for less frequently updated books. Libraries need to ask vendors if a purchase option is available for these types of books. If the answer is no, libraries need to continue communicating with vendors, but perhaps be prepared to move their business. Some vendors and publishers are listening to customers and making eBooks available for purchase. For example, Elsevier Science makes a number of eBooks available for purchase via its ScienceDirect platform. Additionally, the eBook aggregators Books@Ovid and Rittenhouse R2 Digital Library offer purchase options for many titles.
When a purchase option is not available, libraries need to consider whether the book is valuable enough to warrant a subscription. For many libraries, the only books that justify subscription costs are the titles with seemingly no peers. Yet, libraries should consider whether any title justifies using their limited subscription funds to pay for content that does not change from year to year.
Publishers that want to sell eBooks to libraries need to understand the state of libraries’ budgets. Many libraries have seen their subscription budgets crowding out other collection purchases. Oftentimes, libraries pay subscription costs first, and use remaining funds for books and other one-time purchases. Although publishers might target subscription budgets, hoping to tap into steady revenue streams, libraries supporting the health sciences must use the lion’s share of subscription budgets to cover journals, abstracting and indexing databases, and similar resources. Additionally, when libraries are trying to contain or reduce their subscription expenses, they are unlikely to fund new subscriptions.
Inclusive vs. Exclusive
Aggregating electronic content enables readers to search large numbers of titles simultaneously and to move easily back and forth between titles. In an ideal world, the reader would be able to access content from all publishers in a single interface. The Books@Ovid and Rittenhouse R2 platforms offer access to numerous publishers’ books through their search interfaces. Both add value to the eBooks by offering useful tools, such as Books@Ovid’s automatic search term generation or R2’s cross-title topic and drug indexes.
The emerging problem is that some publishers are restricting access to eBook titles to one aggregator. For example, Wolters Kluwer owns Ovid and Lippincottt Williams & Wilkins (LWW). Consequently, many LWW titles are available only on Books@Ovid and few are available using R2 Digital Library. Some publishers sign exclusive agreements with one platform. For example, SLACK books are available from R2 but not from Books@Ovid.
For students and faculty, exclusive agreements mean that they must use numerous interfaces to access eBooks, interrupting their reading, studying, or thinking to switch platforms. For libraries, exclusive agreements mean working with numerous vendors, negotiating multiple license agreements, purchasing unneeded resources (at times), and creating end-user training for multiple interfaces.
Books appear to be heading down the same path that journals followed a decade ago. Many publishers initially provided journal titles to platforms such as Journals@Ovid and ProQuest, but later removed the titles in order to offer them exclusively through their own platforms. Others signed exclusive agreements with one platform, requiring libraries to subscribe to databases that might exceed their institutions’ needs. For journal subscriptions, the saving grace has been the rise of technologies such as OpenURL, link resolvers, CrossRef, and DOI that facilitate linking to journal articles across platforms. My hope is that books will eventually achieve a similar level of connectedness.
Desktop/Laptop vs. Mobile Access
The ways that readers use eBooks add a level of complexity not seen with journals. Health care practitioners, scientists, and other researchers often consult books for quick answers such as physical constants, lab values, and drug information. They need to find this information regardless of location and time, and often when it is not possible to go to a computer or library. EBook readers such as the Kindle, Sony Reader, and iPad might provide solutions. However, one of the most common questions I get from students and faculty is, “Can I get this on my phone?” For these readers, wired access on the desktop, or even WiFi access via laptop, is not good enough.
Students, residents, and younger faculty expect mobile access to information resources. Unfortunately, it appears that some publishers (as well as faculty and librarians) are not prepared for this shift. When faced with the issue of optimizing access to databases, eBooks, and electronic journals via smartphones,[i] many publishers and database vendors are not yet ready to discuss the topic. In fairness, select publishers have done an outstanding job of presenting their content in formats that work well with smartphones. For example, the drug information resource Epocrates started as personal digital assistant software and moved quickly to smartphone platforms. Also, the venerable drug reference book Facts and Comparisons recently introduced its eAnswers version, which runs on the iPhone platform without the need to install software. The success of many information resources will depend on their translation into easy-to-use, readily available formats for smartphones as well as laptop and desktop computers.
Developing a Model That Works for Libraries and Their Users
The growth of eBooks is a positive development that should ultimately benefit health sciences libraries and their users. However, the current state of eBook access can be frustrating to users and librarians alike. It reminds me of a recent experience at O’Hare Airport, when I needed to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5 in 40 minutes to reach a connecting flight. After walking, running, and riding escalators, moving walkways, and a bus, I reached Terminal 5 only to learn that my flight was cancelled! So how can we avoid creating similar levels of frustration for eBook users? Here is what I propose to eBook publishers and vendors:
- Follow open standards.
Proprietary systems ultimately discourage use, particularly when coupled with exclusive agreements that limit eBook availability. Using standards for eBooks makes them more attractive to libraries because standards guarantee access for varied users.
- Make eBooks platform independent.
To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the content, stupid.” Readers turn to works like Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine because of the content. EBooks need to be available in a variety of databases and through numerous devices. If students cannot get to Harrison’s, they will be more willing to try sources with similar content, like Cecil Textbook of Medicine.
- Take advantage of linking technologies and standards to increase eBook connectedness.
Some eBooks already take advantage of the OpenURL and DOI standards. Employing these standards makes it easier to jump from one eBook to another (or from a database to an eBook). Connectedness drives use of information resources.
- Offer eBooks using the purchase model when possible.
Offering infrequently updated books using a subscription model causes libraries to consider purchasing competing titles. As business models and formats change, today’s most successful resources can and should change. Before 1998 nobody had heard of Epocrates; today it’s one of the major players in mobile drug information.
- Make the process of purchasing eBooks easier.
Buying an eBook should be as easy as buying a print book. Currently, some publishers sell eBooks only through their own sales forces and often are not prepared to deal with hundreds of transactions for eBooks. Additionally, publishers should develop simplified licensing processes – particularly when adding eBooks to an existing license. Many libraries factor ease of working with a vendor into their decision-making.
Electronic Book Publishing at a Crossroads
Libraries and publishers need to help each other make the journey to eBook collections. Publishers want to create excellent books, and libraries want to ensure that their students, clinicians, and faculty can access these excellent books. In reality, libraries and publishers are competing with free resources available on the Internet. If you spend a little time observing students, you will quickly learn that they use free resources available on the Web. If you ask them why, many will tell you it’s just easier. At this crossroads, libraries and publishers need to make accessing eBooks as easy as accessing free resources on the Web. If they are successful, readers will discover the eBooks, recognize their quality, and choose to use them.
[i]A smartphone is “A cellular telephone with built-in applications and Internet access.” Examples of smartphones include iPhone, Android, and many BlackBerry devices such as the Storm, Bold, or Curve. PC Magazine Encyclopedia, http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia (accessed February 26, 2010).
