Ebook Usage in
U.S.Academic Libraries
2016
Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
Survey'of'Ebook'Usage'in'U.S.'Academic'Libraries'
1!
! Executive'Summary'.....................................................................................................'3! Introduction'..............................................................................................................'10! How!This!Report!Is!Organized!......................................................................................!10! Data%Presentation%........................................................................................................%10! Chapter%Structure%.........................................................................................................%11! For!More!Information!...................................................................................................!12! 1.'Academic'Ebook'Volumes'and'Collections'.............................................................'13! Number!of!Volumes!.....................................................................................................!13! 2016%Ebook%Volumes%....................................................................................................%13! 2012%Ebook%Volumes%....................................................................................................%16! 2016%Print%Volumes%......................................................................................................%18! Categories!and!Disciplines!............................................................................................!19! Categories%Offered%.......................................................................................................%19! Categories%In%Demand%..................................................................................................%20! Disciplines%In%Which%Ebooks%Are%Used%..........................................................................%22! Influential!Purchase!Factors!.........................................................................................!24! Ereading!Devices!...........................................................................................................!25! Ebook!Promotion!..........................................................................................................!27! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................!28! In!Their!Own!Words!......................................................................................................!29! 2.'Ebook'Acquisition'and'Access'................................................................................'30! Acquisition!Models!.......................................................................................................!30! Current%Acquisition%Models%..........................................................................................%30! Preferred%Acquisition%Model%.........................................................................................%33! Usage!Models!(Single\User!vs.!Unlimited!Access)!........................................................!37! Collection!Access!..........................................................................................................!38! Discovery%Services%........................................................................................................%39! Number!of!Platforms!Available!....................................................................................!41! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................!42! In!Their!Own!Words!......................................................................................................!42! 3.'Ebook'Usage,'Circulation,'and'Demand'.................................................................'44! Usage!Tracking!..............................................................................................................!44! Ebook!Circulation!and!Usage!Trends!............................................................................!45! Barriers!to!Use!..............................................................................................................!47! Ebook!Demand!.............................................................................................................!50! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
2!
Student!Preference!by!Type!of!Ebook!..........................................................................!51! Textbook!Replacement!.................................................................................................!53! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................!54! In!Their!Own!Words!......................................................................................................!55! 4.'Ebook'Buying'and'Budgets'....................................................................................'57! Ebook!Spending!and!Budgets!.......................................................................................!57! Current%Spending%on%Ebooks%........................................................................................%57! 2012%Spending%on%Ebooks%............................................................................................%58! Ebooks%and%Last%Year’s%Budget%....................................................................................%61! Ebooks%and%This%Year’s%Budget%.....................................................................................%62! Ebooks%and%the%Budget%In%Five%Years%............................................................................%63! Budget%Cannibalization%................................................................................................%64! Ebook!Purchasing!Month!..............................................................................................!66! Simultaneous!Print!Purchase!........................................................................................!67! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................!67! 5.'Vendors'and'Valuable'Features'.............................................................................'69! Vendors!Used!...............................................................................................................!69! Preferred!Vendors!........................................................................................................!71! Important!Ebook!Features!............................................................................................!72! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................!73! In!Their!Own!Words!......................................................................................................!74! General'Conclusions'and'Trends'................................................................................'75! Trends!to!Watch!...........................................................................................................!76! Hot%Trends%....................................................................................................................%76! Lukewarm%Trends%.........................................................................................................%76! The!Last!Word!...............................................................................................................!77! Appendix'A.'Profile'of'Respondents'..........................................................................'79! Type!of!Library!..............................................................................................................!79! Public!or!Private!............................................................................................................!80! ARL!Library!....................................................................................................................!81! Library!Location!............................................................................................................!82! Acquisition!Budget!........................................................................................................!84! Job!Title!........................................................................................................................!85! Ebook!Authority!............................................................................................................!86! Appendix'B.'Methodology'and'Questionnaire'...........................................................'87! The!Survey!Methodology!..............................................................................................!87! Academic!Library!Ebook!Survey!2016!...........................................................................!88!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
3!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
'EXECUTIVE'SUMMARY'
Library'Journal!last!surveyed!academic!libraries!about!ebook!usage!in!2012.! In!that!study,!we!had!found!that!virtually!all!academic!libraries!offered! ebooks!to!their!users,!they!were!well=used,!and!there!was!little!more!to!say! on!the!subject.!! Four!years!later,!we!pay!a!return!visit!to!academic!libraries.!Has!anything! changed!in!the!interim?!Perhaps!the!biggest!finding!is!that!print!books!are! still!firmly!ensconced!in!academic!libraries,!and!are!preferred!by!library! users—students!and!faculty—for!most!kinds!of!content,!although!ebooks!are! favored!for!reference!titles.!So!although!ebooks!are!overwhelmingly!offered! by!academic!libraries,!they!don’t!get!as!much!use!as!librarians!would!like.!! As!for!librarians’!standpoint!on!ebooks,!the!traditional!challenges!of! purchasing!terms,!multiple!platforms,!and!cost!persist.!!
Ebook'and'Print'Volumes' Growth'of'Ebook'Volumes'Slows' In!2016,!a!median!of!47,183!ebooks!are!available!to!academic!library!users,! however!the!average!skews!much!higher!at!258,957!due!to!a!few!outliers!in! the!over!a!million!range.!!Back!in!2012,!academic!students!had!access!to!a! median!of!35,500!ebooks!(average:!91,900).!The!median!increased!33%!in! the!four!years!from!2012!to!2016,!when!it!had!doubled!in!one!year’s!time! between!2011!and!2012.!The!size!of!graduate!program!libraries’!ebook! collections!appear!to!have!leveled!off!since!2012,!while!other!academic! libraries’!collections!continue!to!grow.!! ! Trending'of'ebook' collections!(All! academic!libraries)' !Median!#!ebook! volumes!
2010'
2011'
2012'
2016'
!16,666!!
!20,132!!
!35,500!!
!47,183!!
About!48%!of!ebooks!available!in!academic!libraries!were!license/purchased! independently.!The!other!52%!are!available!through!a!consortium!or!the! state.!Graduate!level!academic!libraries!are!more!likely!to!acquire!ebooks!on! their!own,!while!community!colleges!gain!access!to!about!three!times!as! many!ebooks!through!a!consortium!as!through!independent!means.!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
4!
Undergraduate,!4=year!college!library!ebook!collections!are!split!between! independent!license!and!consortium!access.! Print>to>Ebook'Ratio' Generally!speaking,!academic!library!users!have!access!to!two!and!a!half! times!as!many!print!volumes!as!ebook!volumes;!academic!print!collections! contain!a!median!of!125,662!(average!520,509)!print!titles.!!
Categories'and'Disciplines' The!most!prevalent!ebook!category!is!reference,!offered!by!92%!of!academic! libraries.!“Scholarly!monographs”!are!offered!by!87%.!In!the!four!years!since! our!last!survey,!academic!libraries!have!substantially!increased!their!“classic! literature,”!“general!adult!nonfiction,”!and!“general!adult!fiction”!ebook! offerings.!Etextbook!availability!is!unchanged,!offered!by!one!out!of!three! academic!libraries.! Nearly!half!of!respondents!named!“scholarly!monographs”!as!the!most!in= demand!ebook!category!(selected!by!nearly!half!of!respondents),!with! “reference”!trailing!in!second!place!(selected!by!22%).!Other!categories,!such! as!general!adult!fiction/non=fiction!and!literature!see!only!minimal!demand.! As!for!the!top!disciplines!for!which!academic!libraries’!ebooks!are!used,! “business”!is!number!one,!selected!by!48%!of!libraries.!“Nursing”!(44%),! “psychology”!(43%),!“history”!(37%),!and!“education”!(36%)!round!out!the! top!five!disciplines.!!
Influential'Purchase'Factors' The!top!three!factors!that!influence!librarians!to!purchase!specific!ebook! titles!are:!! •
“faculty!request”!(82%)!
•
“price”!(79%)!
•
“curriculum/course!alignment”!(76%)!
“Student!request”!and!“reviews”!are!less!influential,!both!cited!by!38%!of! respondents.!!
The'PC/Laptop'Remains'Prevalent' The!personal!computer!or!laptop!remains!the!primary!device!on!which! library!users!read!ebooks,!cited!by!59%!of!respondents!(though!down!from! 75%!back!in!2012).!“Tablet!like!iPad,!Nexus,!Galaxy”!was!selected!by!a!mere! 4%,!as!was!“mobile!device!like!iPhone,!Android.”!One=third!of!respondents! don’t!know!what!hardware!is!used!most!often—likely!the!result!of!users! remotely!accessing!libraries’!collections.!!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
5!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
Ebook'Promotion' Virtually!all!academic!librarians!promote!their!ebook!collections!in!some! way.!Eight=in=ten!talk!about!ebooks!specifically!during!library!orientation!or! class!and!75%!rely!on!word!of!mouth!to!promote!ebook!collections.!!Another! sixty=nine!percent!use!LibGuides1!to!get!the!word!out.!
Acquisition'Models'in'Flux' Ebook!acquisition!models—also!known!as!purchasing!terms—have!been!a! bone!of!contention!for!librarians!since!the!advent!of!ebooks.!Such!models! have!been!evolving!to!better!meet!library’s!needs—and!budgets—but!thus! far!there!seems!to!be!no!one=size=fits=all!solution,!and!libraries!find! themselves!relying!on!a!variety!of!terms.!“Subscription”!and!“perpetual! access–title!by!title!purchasing”!are!the!two!most!common.!! What'type(s)'of'acquisition'models'does'your'library'typically' use'when'acquiring'ebooks?' Subscription!
! 79%!
Perpetual!access!\!title!by!title!purchasing!
75%!
Demand\driven!acquisition!\!purchase!
49%!
Upfront!purchase!with!maintenance!fee!
34%!
Demand\driven!acquisition!\!short!term!loan!
18%!
Ebook!approval!plans!
11%!
Combined!ebook!and!print!approval!plan!
10%! 4%!
Other!
As!for!the!model!that!librarians!would!choose!above!all!others,!there’s!no! clear!consensus,!but!the!top!item,!preferred!by!39%!of!libraries,!is!“perpetual! access–title!by!title!purchasing.”!Tied!for!second,!selected!by!24%,!are! “subscription”!and!“demand=driven!acquisition–purchase.”!All!other! acquisition!models!registered!in!the!single!digits.!!! “[Perpetual%access–title%by%title%purchasing]%aligns%with%the%traditional%‘collection% building’%and%library%ownership%model,%with%something%to%show%for%our%money,%rather% than%access_only;%this%is%preferred%by%many%faculty%and%some%librarians%here.”%% “[Ebooks%acquired%via%a%subscription%model]%are%updated%in%the%subscription%database.%It% is%an%economical%way%for%the%library%to%offer%a%wide%range%of%subjects.%We%could%not%offer% as%much%through%purchase.”% “[Demand_driven%acquisition]%allows%users%to%choose%what%they%want.%We%don’t%buy% many%more%expensive%items%if%they%are%not%specifically%requested.”%
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!LibGuides!are!hubs!for!subject=based!links!geared!specifically!for!libraries;!one!specific!example!from!the!
library!at!UC!Berkeley!http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=138500.! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
6!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
! Usage'Models'
Librarians!and!library!users!dislike!single=user=only!ebook!access,!which!can! be!frustrating!for!popular!titles.!Simultaneous!access!is!preferable,!and!55%! of!academic!libraries’!ebook!collections!do!allow!for!simultaneous!access.! One!third!(34%)!are!exclusively!single=user.!!
Collection'Access'and'Discovery' Most!(74%)!academic!libraries!say!users!access!ebooks!through!their!catalog,! while!53%!use!a!discovery!service,!and!46%!use!LibGuides!or!some!other! sharing!service.!Of!those!libraries!that!do!use!a!discovery!service,!56%!say! that!ebook!usage!has!increased.!
Usage,'Circulation,'and'Demand' Usage'Tracking' Tracking!ebook!usage!is!an!essential!way!to!ensure!that!resources!are!being! allocated!properly,!but!there!is!no!clear=cut!system!of!gleaning!ebook!usage! statistics.!Only!23%!of!academic!libraries!use!a!single!method!for!tracking! usage.!The!top!method!is!“number!of!full=text!retrievals”!(used!by!53%),! followed!by!“number!of!downloads/checkouts”!(48%),!“number!of!sessions”! (38%),!and!“number!of!page!views”!(35%).!! Very!few!respondents!were!able!to!specify!their!ebook!circulation,!and!those! who!did!based!their!figures!on!so!many!different!variables!that!it!was! impossible!to!draw!any!meaningful!conclusions!from!them.!! However!they!measure!ebook!circulation,!usage!continues!to!grow,!with!an! almost!10%!increase!in!circulation!expected!this!year!over!last!(virtually!the! same!change!is!anticipated!in!all!academic!library!settings).!! Compared%to%last%year,%do%you%expect% this%year's%usage%of%ebooks%will% increase,%stay%the%same%or%decrease?' Increase! Stay!the!same! Decrease! Overall%Net%change%expected%
2012' 67%! 32%! 1%! +15%%
2016' 57%! 41%! 1%! +9.5%%
Barriers'to'Usage' The!biggest!barrier!to!ebook!usage!has!now!become!“users!prefer!print,”! selected!by!60%!of!respondents,!up!from!50%!in!2012,!and!up!from!40%! back!in!our!debut!2010!survey.!“Unaware!of!ebook!availability”!was!selected! by!56%!of!respondents!(up!from!52%!in!2012),!and!“difficult!to!read! onscreen/online”!is!down!four!percentage!points!to!41%.!“Printing! limitations,”!which!was!a!write=in!answer!in!2012,!registered!40%!in!2016.!!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
7!
Ebook'Demand' In!a!new!question,!only!16%!of!this!year’s!respondents!report!that!demand! for!library!ebooks!is!high.!The!remainder!is!split,!with!40%!of!academic! libraries!saying!that!demand!for!ebooks!is!low,!and!another!39%!saying!that! ebook!demand!is!about!the!same!as!for!other!formats.!In!other!words,!there! is!no!special!love!or!hate!for!ebooks;!they’re!simply!a!resource!that!is! preferred!for!some!types!of!content!and!not!for!others.!! Such!as?!For!reference!materials,!the!overwhelming!preference!is!ebooks.! Only!16%!of!libraries!say!that!students!have!a!preference!for!print!reference! materials.!! However,!for!textbooks,!print!sprints!ahead,!with!42%!of!libraries!saying!that! students!favor!printed!textbooks.!Only!graduate!students!have!a!definite! preference!for!etextbooks!over!print.!! All!other!content!types—classic!literature,!general!adult!fiction,!scholarly! monographs,!and!general!adult!nonfiction—are!preferred!in!print!by!a!large! margin.!! Reasons!for!these!preferences!are!those!that!are!unique!to!students:!the! ability!to!annotate,!highlight,!share,!and!print/copy!content.!Ebooks!can!also! pose!reference!problems!when!trying!to!add!academic!citations,!although! some!licensed!products!allow!students!to!select!their!school’s!preferred! bibliographic!reference/footnote!format!(e.g.,!MLA,!Chicago!Manual!of!Style).! Then!there!is!the!basic!fact!that,!despite!advances!in!ereader!and!tablet! displays,!many!are!more!comfortable!reading!in!print!and!may!seek!to!reduce! screen!time.!
Ebook'Spending'and'Budgets' For!the!2015–2016!academic!year,!academic!libraries!spent!an!average!of! $62,904!(median!$19,357)!on!ebooks.!Back!during!the!2011–2012!academic! year,!libraries!spent!an!average!of!$67,400!(median!$16,600)!on!ebooks.!On!a! mean!basis,!spending!is!down,!but!on!a!median!basis!it’s!up,!so!we!expect!that! the!“real”!spending!is!somewhere!in!the!middle.!Essentially,!ebook!spending! is!up!only!very!modestly,!but!not!dramatically.!! This!year,!respondents!said!that!ebooks!accounted!for!12.0%!(median!9.3%)! of!the!acquisition!budget.!In!2012,!respondents!had!estimated!that!ebook! spending!accounted!for!9.6%!(median!7.4%)!of!that!year’s!acquisition! budget.!Looking!forward,!academic!libraries!predict!that!ebooks!will! represent!17.0%!(median!16.2%)!of!their!acquisition!budget!in!five!years,!a! forecast!which!may!be!over=zealous.2!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2!In!our!2011!survey,!academic!librarians!expected!ebooks!to!account!for!19.1%!(median!18.5%)!of!the!total!
acquisition!budget!five!years!hence!(2016).!So,!five!years!ago,!respondents!over=estimated!by!about!seven! percentage!points.! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
8!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
! Approximately'what'percentage'of'your' library's'acquisition'budget'did'ebooks' represent?'(median'%)' All!academic!libraries! Graduate/Professional! Undergraduate!(4\year)! Community!College!
' 2012' 7.4%! 7.4%! 7.0%! 7.8%!
2016' 9.3%! 10.5%! 9.2%! 8.9%!
Prediction' for'2021' 16.2%! 16.7%! 14.8%! 17.0%!
Less!than!one=half!(46%)!of!libraries!report!that!money!spent!on!ebooks! comes!at!the!expense!of!another!budget.!Of!those,!52%!say!that!the!money! detracts!from!their!print!budget.!!
Vendors'Used'and'Preferred' Eighty=two!percent!of!academic!libraries!obtain!their!ebooks!through! EBSCOhost!(38%!also!buy!through!YBP,!now!owned!by!EBSCO).!Fifty=nine! percent!acquire!ebooks!through!Gale!and!another!58%!through!ProQuest! Ebook!Central!(formerly!Ebrary!and!EBL).!! As!for!the!one!ebook!vendor!they!would!most!prefer!to!use,!EBSCOhost! received!the!most!significant!response!(22%)!followed!by!ProQuest!Ebook! Central!(19%).!Still,!nearly!three!out!of!ten!(29%)!selected!“no!preference.”!! The!most!important!ebook!features!academic!librarians!consider!when! making!selection!decisions!are:! •
“user!save,!share,!and!download!capabilities”!
•
“persistent!URLs”!!
•
“mobile=optimized”!
•
“PDF!format”!!
These!features!were!cited!as!either!important!or!very!important!by!more! than!90%!of!respondents.!
General'Conclusions' The!term!“ebook”!in!the!context!of!academic!libraries!can!refer!to!many! different!kinds!of!digital!content—PDFs,!web!pages,!free!ebooks!on!a!site!like! Project!Gutenberg,!Google!Books!page!scans,!and!so!on—and!not!just!the! Kindle=compatible!ebooks!sold!commercially!or!borrowed!from!public! libraries.!! A!major!finding!in!this!year’s!survey!is!“students!prefer!print,”!but!the! question!is,!why!do!they!prefer!it,!and!for!what!kinds!of!materials?!A!graduate! student!in!the!pressure=cooker!environment!that!grad!school!can!be!has!little! time!or!patience!for!problems!with!the!basic!usability!of!research!materials! and!fighting!with!DRM!and!other!limitations!on!ebook!access!and!use.!Print! is,!most!of!the!time,!a!completely!hassle=free!format.!Any!ebook!platform! truly!designed!to!serve!the!academic!student!needs!to!be!cognizant!of!and! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
9!
address!these!issues.!Vendors!need!to!understand!how!students!use!research! materials!compared!to!simply!reading!the!latest!James!Patterson!novel.!They! are!entirely!different!ways!of!using!“ebooks.”!! For!the!library!itself,!library!staffing!may!present!challenges!that!can!have! both!positive!and!negative!effects!on!the!ability!to!offer!and!support!ebooks.! On!the!one!hand,!ebooks!are!“self=serve”!and!they!don’t!need!physical!staff!to! check!them!in!and!out.!However,!they!do!require!staff!to!handle!some!of!the! more!technical!aspects,!such!as!updating!catalogs,!and!dealing!with!tech! support.!!! It’s!worth!looking!at!an!initiative!being!launched!by!The!University!of!North! Carolina–Charlotte.!The!Charlotte!Initiative3!is!seeking!ways!to!integrate! ebooks!into!academic!libraries!without!changing!the!role!that!these!libraries! play!in!academic!life.!The!initiative!is!based!on!three!guiding!principles:! [P]ermanent!acquisitions!of!eBooks!requires!these!licensing!terms:!! !
Provision!of!irrevocable!perpetual!access!and!archival!rights.!
!
Allowance!for!unlimited!simultaneous!users.!
!
Freedom!from!any!Digital!Rights!Management!(DRM),!including! (but!not!limited!to)!use!of!proprietary!formats,!restricted!access!to! content,!or!time=limited!access!terms.!!
These!three!issues!prevent!the!greater!acceptance!of!ebooks,!especially!when! they!thwart!the!ability!for!students!and!other!academics!to!use!the!academic! library!as!the!research!tool!it!was!designed!to!be.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3!http://guides.library.uncc.edu/charlotteinitiative.!!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
10!
INTRODUCTION'
Welcome!to!the!2016!Academic!Ebook!Study.!This!year,!we!revisit!academic! libraries!and!their!use!of!ebooks!after!a!gap!of!four!years.!When!we!launched! the!original!Library'Journal!Ebook!Studies!in!2010,!we!looked!at!three!classes! of!libraries:!public,!academic!(i.e.,!colleges!and!universities),!and!schools!(e.g.,! K=12).!By!2012,!we!had!found!that!virtually!all!academic!libraries!offered! ebooks!to!their!users,!they!were!well=used,!and!there!was!little!more!to!say! on!the!subject!vis=à=vis!ebook!penetration.!! Now,!four!years!later,!we!revisit!academic!libraries!to!see!if!anything!has! changed!while!we!were!away.!Have!ebooks!gained!or!waned!in!popularity?! Are!there!any!new!or!different!attitudes!toward!ebooks!in!general,! purchasing!terms,!vendor!relations,!and!other!issues?!Are!collections! growing?!Are!ebooks!a!growing!part!of!the!overall!materials!budget?!! To!answer!these!questions,!we!compared!and!contrasted!this!year’s!survey! results!with!the!2012!survey!data.!However,!we!tweaked!or!changed!outright! the!wording!of!many!of!the!questions!to!better!reflect!changes!in!the!market,! so!direct!quantitative!comparison!isn’t!always!possible,!but!we!can!make! some!qualitative!comparisons.!There!is!also!a!plethora!of!brand!new! questions!this!year.! A!hallmark!of!our!survey!is!the!verbatim!comments.!As!always,!we!invited! survey!respondents!to!answer!open=ended!questions!that!asked!about! academic!libraries’!experience!with!ebooks.!In!this!survey,!we!also!asked! specifically!about!their!preferred!ebook!vendor!and!acquisition!model.!These! qualitative!responses!are!a!useful!lens!through!which!to!view!the! quantitative!results!of!our!survey.!A!selection!of!these!responses!can!be! found!at!the!end!of!each!chapter.!!
How'This'Report'Is'Organized' The!present!report!uses!the!same!basic!structure!and!format!as!past!versions! of!our!ebook!usage!surveys.!! Data'Presentation' The!bulk!of!each!chapter!provides!top=level!survey!results!in!chart!form—in! essence,!the!“all!responses”!results,!or!what!all!libraries!surveyed!said!about! a!specific!question.!This!gives!an!overall!idea!of!the!prevailing!attitude.!! In!those!cases!where!we!have!calculated!averages,!such!as!“average!number! of!ebooks!available”!or!“average!amount!spent!on!ebooks,”!we!provide!both!a! mean!and!a!median.!A!mean!is!a!simple!average,!or!“the!sum!of!a!collection!of! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
11!
numbers!divided!by!the!number!of!numbers!in!the!collection.”4!A!median!is! “the!numerical!value!separating!the!higher!half!of!a!data!sample,!a! population,!or!a!probability!distribution,!from!the!lower!half.”5!Medians!are! more!useful!than!means!when!looking!at!datasets!with!outliers—that!is,! figures!that!are!anomalously!high!or!anomalously!low.6!For!some!of!the! questions!in!this!survey,!there!were!very!large!outliers!that!skewed!mean! figures,!so!looking!at!median!values!gives!us!a!better!idea!of!what!the!reality! is.!! Each!chart!is!followed!by!a!corresponding!table!that!breaks!down!the!survey! responses!by:! •
type!of!library/institution—graduate/professional,!undergraduate,! and!community!college;!
•
whether!the!institution!is!public!or!private;!and!
•
acquisition!budget—!under!$100,000,!$100,000!to!$999,000,!and!$1! million!and!over.!
Different!libraries!have!diverse!attitudes!and!behaviors,!and!naturally!those! with!large!acquisition!budgets!have!more!resources,!while!those!with!smaller! budgets!often!have!to!do!more!with!less.!We!have!called!out!in!commentary! where!some!figures!in!these!segments!caught!our!attention,!but!readers!who! are!looking!for!more!granularity!will!find!much!of!value!in!these!tables.!! Chapter'Structure' Chapter!1!looks!at!the!size!of!ebook!collections!and!categories!offered.!What! ebook!categories!and!genres!are!most!in!demand!for!certain!disciplines?!! Chapter!2!is!all!about!ebook!acquisition,!licensing,!and!circulation.!!! Chapter!3!uncovers!ebook!usage!trends!including!student!demand!and! preferences.!What!are!barriers!to!use?! Chapter!4!explores!budgets!and!purchasing!terms.!How!much!do!academic! libraries!spend!on!ebooks?!Are!ebooks!taking!a!greater!percentage!of!the! budget!pie?!Are!libraries!cutting!elsewhere!to!pay!for!them?!On!what! purchasing!terms!do!libraries!buy?!! Chapter!5!highlights!ebook!vendors!and!required!ebook!features—which! vendors!do!libraries!use,!and!which!do!they!prefer?! Appendix!A!offers!a!demographic!profile!of!the!libraries!and!individuals!who! responded!to!our!survey.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_mean.!! 5!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median.!! 6!A!classic!example!of!the!problem!of!outliers!is!if!a!group!of!librarians!was!gathered!in!a!bar.!Calculate!the!
average!annual!income.!Suddenly,!Bill!Gates!walks!in.!Now!re=calculate!the!average!annual!income.!Did!everyone! just!get!a!massive!raise,!or!did!one!outlier!skew!the!average!upward?!! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
12!
Appendix!B!provides!the!questionnaire!and!methodology!for!this!year’s! survey.!! At!the!end!of!each!chapter,!we!have!provided!selected!responses!to!our! write=in!comments!questions.!
For'More'Information' For!questions!or!comments!regarding!this!study,!please!contact!our!research! manager,
[email protected].! ! !
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
13!
1.'ACADEMIC'EBOOK'VOLUMES'AND'COLLECTIONS'
This!chapter!looks!at!the!total!number!of!ebook!volumes!in!academic! libraries’!ebooks!collections,!as!well!as!the!top!categories!and!disciplines!for! which!ebooks!are!used!in!academic!coursework.!!
Number'of'Volumes' Throughout!the!latter!half!of!the!2000s!and!the!2010s,!academic!libraries’! ebook!collections!grew!by!leaps!and!bounds.!By!2012,!academic!students!had! access!to!an!average!of!91,900!(median!37,500)!ebooks.!In!2016,!we!divided! this!into!two!parts:!ebooks!that!the!library!purchased!or!licensed!on!their! own,!and!those!that!were!purchased!through!a!consortium!or!state.7!This! year,!we!calculate!an!average!of!111,092!ebooks!purchased/licensed! independently!and!a!further!147,865!made!available!through!a!consortium! or!state.!That!makes!for!a!total!average!of!258,957!(median!47,183)!ebooks! available.!So!whichever!way!you!look!at!it,!ebook!collections!are!growing.! 2016'Ebook'Volumes' Academic!library!users!have!access!to!a!mean!111,092!ebooks!(median! 22,477)!that!they!have!purchased!or!licensed!independently.!They!have! access!to!a!further!mean!147,865!(median!24,706)!through!a!consortium!or! state.!The!outliers!tend!to!be!in!the!institutions!with!the!largest!acquisition! budgets.!! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7!We!didn’t!ask!about!consortium!membership!in!this!year’s!survey,!but!in!2012,!about!six!out!of!ten!academic!
libraries!were!part!of!a!consortium!license!program.!At!that!time!about!5%!had!said!they!planned!to!join!a! consortium,!so!we!don’t!expect!overall!consortium!membership!to!have!increased!dramatically!in!the!past!four! years.!! ©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
14!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
! Figure'1.'Approximately'how'many'ebooks'in'total'do'your'students'have'access'to'through'your' library?'—PURCHASED'OR'LICENSED'INDEPENDENTLY'' All'academic'libraries,'2016' Mean:'111,092'•'Median:'22,477'
! Figure'2.'Approximately'how'many'ebooks'in'total'do'your'students'have'access'to'through'your' library?'—AVAILABLE'THROUGH'CONSORTIUM'OR'STATE'' All'academic'libraries,'2016' Mean:'147,865'•'Median:'24,706'
!
!
©!2016!Library%Journal.!All!rights!reserved.!
www.LibraryJournal.com!! Sponsored!by!Gale,!part!of!Cengage!Learning!
!
15!
2016%Survey%of%Ebook%Usage%in%U.S.%Academic%Libraries!
!
Comparing!medians,!we!see!that!graduate!level!academic!libraries!are!more! likely!to!purchase!ebooks!outright,!while!community!colleges!gain!access!to! about!three!times!as!many!ebooks!through!a!consortium!as!through! independent!purchase.!Undergraduate!libraries’!ebook!collections!are!split! between!independent!purchase!and!consortium!access.! Table'1.'Approximately'how'many'ebooks'in'total'do'your'students'have'access'to'through'your'library?' Academic'libraries'by'type'of'institution'and'acquisition'budget,'2016' Type'of'Institution'
2016%
Grad/' Prof'l'
Purchased%or%Licensed%Independently% Under!5,000! 16%! 5,000!to!9,999! 28%! 10,000!to!24,999! 7%! 25,000!to!49,999! 12%! 50,000!to!74,999! 7%! 75,000!to!99,999! 4%! 100,000!to!249,999! 14%! 250,000!to!499,999! 7%! 500,000!to!749,999! 4%! 750,000!to!999,999! 0%! 1!million!or!more! 2%! Mean! 117,933! Median! 23,124! Made%Available%Through%Consortium%or%State% Under!5,000! 32%! 5,000!to!9,999! 19%! 10,000!to!24,999! 11%! 25,000!to!49,999! 4%! 50,000!to!74,999! 4%! 75,000!to!99,999! 11%! 100,000!to!249,999! 16%! 250,000!to!499,999! 4%! 500,000!to!749,999! 0%! 750,000!to!999,999! 0%! 1!million!or!more! 2%! Mean! 232,601! Median! 9,772!
! !
Public'or'Private'
Acquisition'Budget'
Under`' grad''
Com` munity' College'
Public'
Private'
