Collection Management of E-Books: a Developing Country Perspective
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Collection Management of e-books: A Developing Country Perspective Abdul Waheed Chief Librarian, Government College University, Lahore E-mail: [email protected] World Digital Libraries 5(1): 37–49 Abstract This paper attempts to discuss key issues surrounding the collection management of electronic books (e-books) with a developing country perspective. The libraries have witnessed the emergence of e-books in recent years by major publishers and content providers. With the expansion of electronic publishing, research and academic libraries have started to complement their print holdings with electronic publications. The market for electronic publication seems to be in constant change and collection developers and acquisition managers, especially in libraries, fi nd themselves disillusioned as new methods of electronic publishing and accessing are emerging. Libraries are in a transition period from conventional to digital formats and have not yet developed common practices and traditions on policy for digital material. The paper discussed the evolution, chronology, collection development, evaluation, delivery, and archiving of e-books. It focuses on contemporary management from the perspective of a librarian concerned with Collection Management. Status of e-books collection of Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan’s Digital Library Program (HEC-DLP), a milestone project in the scholastic history of the country, has also been discussed. Moreover, some practical steps for local creation of e-books have been proposed. The paper concludes by highlighting major challenges faced by libraries in collection management and management of e-books. The paper is an outcome of the review of published literature in the reputed LIS journals on the topic, and writer’s 20 years’ fi rst hand experience of administrating the prestigious academic libraries including the oldest Punjab University and modern GC University Lahore. Key Words: Electronics Books; Collection Management; Academic Libraries; Developing Countries; Pakistan. 38 Abdul Waheed 1. Introduction Library collection management is further sub- divided into diverse areas, such as acquisitions, During the last three decades various terms technical processing, usage and making (selection, acquisition, collection building, available the archiving of publications. collection development, and collection With the advancement in Information management) have been used to denote and Communication Technology (ICT), the knowledge acquisition and information sources difference between various groups in collection in the libraries. During 1980s, the terms management department is in its last leg, and collection development (CD) and collection work-areas happen to be all the time more management (CM) were used synonymously. inter-dependent. Electronic publishing has However, since 1990s, the literature presented opened up new possibilities for business, different aspects of these two terms because research, and scholarship. With the expansion of the adoption of technological applications of electronic publishing, research and academic in the libraries (Ameen, 2004). A detailed libraries have started to complement their defi nition presented in ‘International print holdings with electronic publications. Encyclopedia of Information and Library These changeovers commence with scientifi c Science’ is as follows: journals, and are now advancing into academic and scholarly books, as well. In the past few “CM is a broad term that has replaced years, corporate and government libraries have the narrower ‘collection building’ and also begun acquiring e-books along with print ‘collection development’ of former holdings. The market for electronic publication decades…it thus encompasses the seems to be in constant change and collection activities traditionally associated with developers and acquisition managers, especially collection development—the selection and in libraries, fi nd themselves disillusioned as new acquisition of library material—but is also methods of electronic publishing and accessing far more comprehensive; it also includes are emerging. Libraries are in a transition the systematic maintenance of library’s period from conventional to digital formats and collection, covering resource allocation, have not yet developed common practices and technical processing, preservation and traditions on policy for digital material. storage, weeding and discarding of stock, and the monitoring and encouragement of collection use”. (Feather, et al., eds., 2003, 2. Definition of the e-book p. 81) Nelson (2008) has defi ned an e-book as, ‘an electronic book that can be read digitally on Hence, Collection Management (CM) may a computer screen, a special e-book reader, be considered as ‘a strategy and a process to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or even settle on what to purchase’; ‘a technique to a mobile phone. In other words, e-books are choose materials for purchase’; ‘estimation consumed on a screen rather than on paper’. of what to select or retain based upon Wikipedia defi nes e-book as ‘an e-text that worth, usage, cost effectiveness, support of forms the digital media equivalent of organizational mission, and quality of access’; a conventional printed book, often protected ‘assessment of how selected materials are used with a digital rights management system’. through user input and response’; ‘budget General and specialized are two kinds of e-books. and funding strategies’; ‘marketing strategies The examples of these two are ‘netLibrary’ or and setting of mission, goals, and objectives’. ‘ebrary’ and ‘Books 24X7’, ‘Knovel’. World Digital Libraries 5 (1): 37–49 Collection Management of E-Books: A Developing Country Perspective 39 3. Evolution of E-books (1996) has given a reference of an article written by Lancaster titled ‘The Evolution of Electronic A huge amount of articles about development Publishing’ (Library Trends, Spring, 1995). of e-books is available in LIS literature. Sinha Lancaster notes that ‘electronic publishing can (2008) traced a brief overview on the evolution be considered to have evolved gradually over a of e-books. She described that in the early 90s, period of about thirty years, the evolution having electronic content became popular as publishers the following manifestations: sent print books accompanied by fl oppy disks 1 Use of computers to generate conventional or CD-ROMs. These added value for students print-on-paper publications; and researchers but caused numerous problems 2 The distribution of text in electronic form, for libraries, from processing to circulation. where the electronic version is the exact Ultimately, such issues became doubtful since equivalent of a paper version and maybe used most librarians were double minded that to generate the paper version; these formats would endure for scientifi c and 3 Distribution in electronic form only but with scholarly content. With web-based access, the publication being little more than print on however, it is rare to fi nd a library that does paper displayed electronically. Nevertheless, not have signifi cant numbers of electronic it may have various ‘value added’ features, resources even as it continues to build its print including search, data manipulation, collections. Over the last 15 years or so, both and alerting (through profi le matching) content providers and libraries have overcome, capabilities; or at least learned to deal with, the many 4 The generation of completely new challenges e-books present in terms of publications that exploits the true capabilities pricing, licensing, access, and workfl ow. The of electronics. electronic book, however, in many respects, seems to be more problematic, and more At present, it is safe to say that all four modes diffi cult to incorporate into library collections of operation are being employed, and experts and processes. are experiencing the number 3 and 4 modes of The history of electronic publishing dates operations. back to six decades. One of the fi rst non-military The International Digital Publishing Forum applications of the computer technology took (IDPF) reports that wholesale trade e-book sales place with the project of Faher Roberto Busa on in the United States have increased from $1.6 the works of St Thomas Aquinas. The American million in 2002 to $11.6 million by the second Chemical Society began alerting scholars to new quarter of 2008 (IDPF, 2008). Outside the US, developments through electronic means as far as an example, the Digital Content Association back as 1962. In 1971, MEDLINE was launched of Japan (DCAJ) reported that sales of electronic and Project Gutenberg issued its fi rst electronic books increased almost 70% from 2005 to 2006 text of ‘The Declaration of Independence’. In (Anime News Network, 2007). The e-brary 1970s the large business organizations that management conducted an international e-book focused on electronic publications came to the survey in the spring of 2007 to know the e-books fore. Dialog and ORBIT emerged in 1972 while subscription by libraries. The survey results LEXIS in 1973. Since then digital products have showed that out of 552 libraries, 88% owned or mushroomed throughout the world. subscribed to e-books, with 63% responding that In 1990s, for the fi rst time it became cheaper they owned or subscribed to over 1,000 e-books to publish a reference book on CD-ROM than it (Mullarkey, 2007). did in print format (Lee & Boyle, 2004). Meyers World Digital Libraries 5 (1): 37–49 40 Abdul Waheed 4. Chronology of e-books 2008 P Wikipedia (2011) described the following history Adobe and Sony agreed to share their of e-books: technologies (Reader and DRM). P 1971: Michael S. Hart launches the Gutenberg Sony sells the Sony Reader PRS-505 in UK Project. and France. P Books on board is fi rst to sell e-books for iPhones. 1993 P Zahur develops the fi rst software to read 2009 digital books. Digital Book v.1 and the fi rst P Bookeen releases the Cybook Opus in the US e-book published is ‘On Murder’ considered and Europe. as one of the Fine Arts (Thomas de Quincey). P Sony releases the Reader Pocket Edition and P Digital Book offers the fi rst 50 e-books in a Reader Touch Edition. Floppy disk with Digital Book Format (DBF).