eBooks - the View from Bristol - Angela Joyce Another viewpoint from the University of Bristol by Angela Joyce Subject Librarian - Economics, Finance and Management

1. eBooks –
the view from Bristol
ALISS AGM 2011
Angela Joyce 16 June 2011

2. Current situation
• Have bought eBooks regularly since 2009
• Not demand-driven
• Main platforms are Dawsons and Coutts
• Also some packages – eg. Oxford
Scholarship Online
• I use eBooks with Econs, Finance,
Management students – 1,400 students

3. A few statistics….
•Total no of students at Uni of Bristol (Full time equivalent)
18,615 (2009-10)
•No of individual eBooks in library 812 approx
•Total accesses - Dawsons 4175 (2010)
•Top eBook (Dawsons) 518 in 2010 – ‘Reconstructing
criminal law’
•Popular subjects – education, law, management, science, but
accesses across all subjects. Some books only had 1 access

4. How do students access
them?
• Individually via catalogue
• Packages via Metalib ( + there is project to
‘slurp’ records into catalogue from Oxford
Schol and Springer packages)
• Via a special eBooks page on library site

5. How do we publicise eBooks?
• So far – informally via subject librarians
• Inductions, word of mouth, email
• On our Web pages
• New library catalogue search filter
• eBooks promotion group to plan more

6. What do our users think?
Anecdotes…
Yes?
‘I’ve never
‘Students have
looked at
been trying to
them! Can we
print out entire
have a list? ‘ ‘That's a shame we
eBooks and
(Staff) bought it as an
using up all
the paper!’ ebook, it doesn't
really feel like we
‘One dept prefers own it.’
eBooks – maybe to
address adverse
No? NSS feedback?’
‘Can we have
more eBooks
for finance
please?’

7. More feedback… ‘we are being
economically and
politically driven’
‘I had one student knock
‘almost none of the
on my door close to
main textbooks are
tears because they
actually available
could not get hold of a
electronically or, if
book they needed and
they are, tend to be
had downloaded an
hideously expensive’
eBook a few days back
but were totally baffled
‘he wants me to buy eBook that it had disappeared
versions wherever possible, as (due to the DawsonEra
he does not want his students 24 hour only download
to have to leave the clinics to setting)’
look things up in the Library,
but to be able to do it at the
patient's side.’

8. Informal survey - econs,
finance & management school
• Run using Survey Monkey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
• 1,400 students and their staff
targeted.
• 80 respondents
• Mix of multiple choice and open
questions

9. Findings…

10. Why is that? Answers…
• “limited resources, uncustomized
• Can access books when needed.
Everyone needed the same book at the
same time and it was available
• unaware of existence
• They are easily accessible 24/7 and I don't
have to place in reservations and wait for
a book to become available. “

11. More..

12. Do you have any other
comments on eBooks? eg.
problems, advantages, library
help?
• “eBooks have huge potential. I'm not clear what is
available from the library without searching. So far, I
haven't found anything I need. But I will be buying Kindle
and iPad ebooks for my personal research. It would be
great to have core course texts available for classes I
teach, too. Is there a way to request the library obtain
specific ebooks?”

13. More feedback…
• “If I go abroad, can I still get access to
these ebooks? Thank you:)
• I would have liked some sort of training on
how to use ebooks or the right places to
get the ebooks. Also, it would have been a
big help if the University would have
provided ebooks for our course
• what are eBooks?”

14. National situation
• JISC national e-books observatory project
(2009)
• http://www.jiscebooksproject.org/wp-content/JISC-e-books-ob
• Interesting feedback…. Worth a look
• JISC are active in more research on eBooks…

15. Thank you!
Any questions……..?
Angela Joyce
angela.joyce@bristol.ac.uk