Group items tagged

Includes chapter on value of libraries

2006-2007 statistics of the Association of Research Libraries. Graphs and tables detail trends in expenditures and collections development.

This article was written in 1992, well before electronic journals and resources were common. This study examines the economic pressures on libraries, and embraces the possibility that new methods of electronic distribution of resources will help reduce these cost pressures.

This is an in-depth study conducted by the Library of Congress over a period of years to discover and address the issues raised by conversion to digital media. Interestingly, this study is published as an e-book that is freely readable on the web, but must be purchased for download. I just tagged this with each of the main headers because there are chapters in this book that discuss all aspects of our project.

This article is a status report of the usage of eBooks on college campuses. Here is a quote in the article, "John Barnes of Cengage (formerly Gale) told the Charleston audience that, while his company still sells more print than electronic reference, users prefer electronic. He believes libraries should "move faster away from print reference" to meet user needs and increase usage. He cited a study done by Wright State University's Sue Polanka that found much greater use of an electronic collection than a print one, even though the electronic collection was only a fraction of the size of the print one. Further, the cost per use for the electronic collection was less than one-fifth of the cost per use of the print collection." We may want to find that Wright State University study. From the above quote, it seems to point to the feasibility of an all-digital library.

Essay derived from 2006 conference on future of academic libraries. Examines challenges and opportunities in transition from print to digital.

"Libraries have warned that the rise of digital publishing may make it harder or even impossible to access items in their collections in the future."

This is a statement issued by the Consortia at Yale University regarding the ethical implementation of licensing fees during the current economic crisis. They urge a halt on new, expensive innovation and request that database vendors work with libraries regarding their pricing strategies.

This is the Website for the Universal Digital Library project at Carnegie Mellon University. The "Copyright Policy" page clearly spells out how the project adheres to the existing copyright law, and provides information for authors who either want to add their work to the project or have it removed. It is interesting that this project allows for self-publication.

spacer Abstract The University of California's California Digital Library (CDL) formed an Ebook Task Force in August 2000 to evaluate academic libraries' experiences with electronic books (e-books), investigate the e-book market, and develop operating guidelines, principles and potential strategies for further exploration of the use of e-books at the University of California (UC). This article, based on the findings and recommendations of the Task Force Report [1], briefly summarizes task force findings, and outlines issues and recommendations for making e-books viable over the long term in the academic environment, based on the long-term goals of building strong research collections and providing high level services and collections to its users.

While interesting, I think this can be deleted as it doesn't focus on the feasibility of an all-digital library.

issue focused on digital collections

This link leads to an 2000 article by Marlene Manoff called "Hybridity, Mutability, Multiplicity: Theorizing Electronic Library Collections." Much of the article discusses bibliographic control at a time when the internet was still a fairly new environment. Ms. Manoff discusses the changes that were occurring around 1998 - 2000, and many of these cataloging issues are still around today.

Digital Books and the Impact on Libraries Peter Brantley, Editor

An examination of the literature published about electronic books (e-books) between 2000-2007 helps to determine the factors that may have influenced academic e-book offerings and the adoption of e-books in academic libraries. The literature reflects e-book concepts and offerings dating back to 1945, as well as studies and perceptions of opportunities and challenges related to e-books. In an attempt to explain why the integration of e-books into academic library collections has been very gradual during this period, this article presents a summary of the literature that addresses issues related to electronic versions of books that are made accessible online. This includes both books that are digitized and born digital.

"The University of Michigan Press will be restructured as an academic unit under the aegis of Paul N. Courant, the university's dean of libraries. The idea, according to statement released by Michigan on Friday, is to position the press "to become a pioneer" in digital publishing-to make it a more direct collaborator in the central mission of spreading research "as widely and freely as possible.""

Findings and Recommendations portion of a study of the Library of Congress's role in the digital transition. An outline of links for the entire study is on the right side of the page.

"The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published "The E-only Tipping Point for Journals: What's Ahead in the Print-to-Electronic Transition Zone," by Richard K. Johnson and Judy Luther. The report examines the issues associated with the migration from dual-format publishing toward electronic-only publication of journals."

"Clearly something important and fundamental is happening to books and reading. Libraries need to be part of this reading revolution, supporting and defending the rights of digital readers, experimenting with new reader services, collecting new genres and media formats, and providing access for all readers to the devices, networks, content, and online communities that will continue to emerge."