The document summarizes the goals and operations of the OAPEN Library, an open access digital library of academic books. It discusses why starting an open access library is important given declining print book sales and rising serial costs. It also outlines how the library uses the XTF platform, partners with aggregators and libraries, and measures over 400,000 downloads annually to enhance the discoverability and usage of academic books. Future plans include expanding the number of publisher partners and ensuring long-term preservation of the collection.

1. Starting a New Library in the
Google Age
Internet Librarian 2012
22 October 2012
Ronald Snijder
Amsterdam University Press / OAPEN Foundation
24/10/2012

2. Ronald Snijder
• Amsterdam University Press: project manager
digital publications
• OAPEN Foundation: technical coordinator
• Background: libraries and IT
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3. Agenda
• Why bother?
• Start with a good platform
• Search engines are not easy
• Get connected
• Branching out with DOAB
• Usage
• Future developments
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4. The OAPEN Library
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5. Why bother?
• Collection
• Number of books, publishers, languages
• Way to enhance usage for monographs
• Platform for publishers
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6. Why bother?
• Collection:
– Monographs – mainly in humanities and social
sciences
– Quality controlled
– Open Access: “Free to read” or “Free to share”
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7. Why bother?
• Number of books, publishers, languages:
– 1000+ titles
– 35 publishers
– 11 languages
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8. Why bother?
• Way to enhance usage for monographs:
– Declining sales
• Library purchases go down from 1500 (70’s)
to 200-300
Greco & Wharton (2008)
• Print runs & sales go down from 2000-3000 (70’s)
to < 750. Half sells less than 500
Thompson (2005)
– Result of ‘serials crisis’
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9. Why bother?
Serial costs Serial Expenditures
(+402%)
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10. Why bother?
Serial costs Serial Expenditures
(+402%)
vs.
Monograph
costs
Monograph Expenditures
(+71%)
Monographs Purchased
(10%)
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11. Why bother?
• Platform for publishers: Showcase their books
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12. Start with a good platform
• XTF, by California Digital Library
• Standard functions
• Extra functions
• On top of repository database
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13. Start with a good platform
• XTF, by California Digital Library:
– eXtensible Text Framework (XTF)
– Open Source software
– http://xtf.cdlib.org/
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14. Start with a good platform
• Standard functions:
– Enables serendipity: combination of searching and
browsing
– Full text search
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15. Start with a good platform
• Extra functions:
– Multi lingual search
– Export in RIS format: EndNote, Mendeley
– Social media
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16. Start with a good platform
• On top of repository database:
– Institutional Repositories platform
– Exchange (meta) data using OAI PMH
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17. Search engines are not easy
• OAPEN not always on first results page
• Google Scholar or Books?
• Technical measures
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18. Search engines are not easy
• OAPEN not always on first results page:
– Compete against Amazon, publishers
– Content is mainly PDF, indexing is not great
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19. Search engines are not easy
• Google Scholar or Books?
– Google Scholar does not index books
– Google Books requires uploading books through
publishers
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20. Search engines are not easy
• Technical measures:
– Site map – based on www.sitemaps.org protocol
– www.schema.org model for books
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21. Get connected
Data
Aggregators
Academic Search
libraries engines
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22. Get connected
• OAPEN is about usage, regardless of the
platform
• Metadata
• Get connected
• Diversify: DOAB
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23. Get connected
• Metadata:
– Daily updated
– Several types: CSV, MARC, Excel optimized, ONIX
– CC zero license
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24. Get connected
• Get connected:
– BASE (Bielefeld University Library)
– Aggregators
• Serials Solutions (ProQuest)
• Primo Central (ExLibris)
• EBSCO Discovery Service
– Libraries
• Union catalogue of the GVK-GBV, library network Germany
• Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent, Belgium
• James Hardiman Library of the National University of Ireland
– OCLC WorldCat
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25. Get connected
• Diversify: DOAB
– Directory of Open Access Books
– www.doabooks.org
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26. Get connected: the complete picture
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27. Branching out with DOAB
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28. Branching out with DOAB
• Discovery service for peer reviewed OA books
• Differences between OAPEN and DOAB
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29. Branching out with DOAB
• Discovery service for peer reviewed OA books:
– Only “Free to share”
– Publishers provide – and maintain – metadata
– Full text books on OAPEN Library or publisher’s
website
– Beta version, launched in April 2012
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30. Branching out with DOAB
Differences between OAPEN and DOAB:
OAPEN Library DOAB
Contents • Full text Metadata only
• Metadata
License • Free to read Free to share only
• Free to share
Search • Full text • Metadata
• Metadata • Classification: LCC
• Classification: BIC
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31. Usage
• What to measure?
• Choosing the right tool
• Usage statistics
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32. Usage
• What to measure?
– Main statistic: number of downloads
– All other statistics are connected to that
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33. Usage
• Choosing the right tool:
– We started with Google Analytics:
• Only downloads via website, not ‘direct’ downloads
• Number of measured downloads not great:
approximately 10% of all downloads
– Now: usage measured at server level
– No ready-made solution for statistics at book level
– Still a work in progress
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34. Usage
Usage: visitors, visits and book downloads
60000
50000
40000
Unique visitors
30000
Visits
Books downloaded
20000
10000
0
Aug/11 Sep/11 Oct/11 Nov/11 Dec/11 Jan/12 Feb/12 Mar/12 Apr/12 May/12 Jun/12 Jul/12
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35. Usage
August 2011 – July 2012
Unique visitors 227,897
Books dowloaded 400,763
Books per visitor 1.78
Visits per visitor 1.37
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36. Future developments
• Sustainability
• More cooperation
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37. Future developments
• Sustainability:
– platform for more publishers
– platform for research funders
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38. Future developments
• More cooperation:
– E-depot (Dutch Royal Library): long term
preservation
– Europeana: OAPEN as supplier
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39. Thank you!
More on OAPEN:
• www.oapen.org
• www.oapen.nl
• www.oapen-uk.jiscebooks.org
• Twitter:@Oapenbooks
Directory of Open Access Books:
• www.doabooks.org
• Twitter: @Doabooks
Contact me:
• r.snijder@aup.nl
• Twitter: @Ronaldsnijder
24/10/2012