Electronic books collection management: Issues and

challenges

ByRandhir Singh Bhaskar

LibrarianMody Institute of Technology and Science

Faculty of Engineering & TechnologyLaxmangarh-332 311, Sikar, Rajasthan

E-mail: rsbits@gmail.comMobile: +919001811615

Abstract

Issues and challenges Evolution of e-books Chronology, collection development of e-books Evaluation, delivery, and archiving of e-books. Focuses on contemporary managements from the

perspective of a librarian concerns with collection management.

Collection developers and Acquisition managers

Keywords

Electronics books Collection Management Academic Libraries Developing Countries; India.

Introduction

Selection acquisition collection building collection development collection management

Definition of the E-book An electronic book that can be read digitally on a

computer screen, a special e-book reader, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or even a mobile phone. In other words, e-books are consumed on a screen rather than on paper.

Wikipedia defines e-book as “An e-book is an e-text that forms the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book, often protected with a digital rights management system”. General and specialized are two kinds of e-books. The examples of these two are “netLibrary” or “e-brary” and “Books 24X7”.

Evolution of E-Books

1. Use of computers for publications

2. Distribution of text in electronic form

3. Distribution in electronic form

Chronology of E-Books 1995: Amazon starts to sell physical books in Internet. 1996: The Project Gutenberg reaches the 1.000 titles. The target is 1.000.000 1998: Launched the first e-book Readers: Rocket e-book and Soft book. 1998-1999: Websites selling e-books in English, like eReader.com. 2000: Stephen King offers his book ”Riding Bullet‘ in digital file; it only can be

read in computer. 2001: Open 'Todoebook.com' the first website selling e-books in Spanish. 2002: Random House and HarperCollins start to sell digital versions of their

titles in English 2005: Amazon bought Mobi-pocket like a strategic positioning. 2006: Sony presents the Sony Reader with e-ink. 2006: Libre Digital Launched Book Browse as an online reader for publisher

content. 2007: Amazon launched Kindle in US. 2008: Adobe and Sony agreed to share their technologies (Reader and DRM).

Collection Development of E-Books in Libraries

Awareness of publication Technical implications Technical standards Usage conditions Prioritization of the publication Processing of E-Books Delivery of the E-Books to the Reader Archiving E-Books

Major Challenges

Collection Management Many platforms Access model for e-books Large variety of price Mobile phone e-book

Conclusion

Evaluating information resources Electronic environment Exclusive solutions Information environment Electronic publishing Partnership with publishers Libraries and librarians

REFERENCES Sinha, Reeta (2008) Electronic book collection development and acquisitions: Key

issues for libraries and vendors. In shaping the future of special libraries…edited by Dhawan, S.M. et al. New Delhi: Ane Books

Lee, S. D., & Boyle, F. (2004). Building an electronic resource collection (2nd ed.). London: Facet publishing.

Meyers, Barbara (1996) Electronic Publishing: A Brief History and Some Current Activities, IP News Internet Edition http://www.knotworks.com/doc/IPNews/1996.4.ToC.html

Alexandros Koulouris and Sarantos Kapidakis. (2005) Policy Model for University Digital Collections.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/4j2th7rym9xwrw09/fulltext.pdf Wikipedia (2009). E-book, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wikic cite_note-0542 Twiss-Brooks, Andrea (2007) Challenges in building e-books collections. Paper

resented at the 23rd National American Chemical Society Meeting August 25-29, 2007 Uta Grothkopf (1998).

Garrett, J. & Waters, D., 1996, Preserving Digital Information: Final Report and Recommendations, [Online]. Available: http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/ [July 1, 1998]

Anime NewsNetwork 2008 ”Report: Japan Bought 331% More Books on Phones in 2006.‘ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com

Thank You

Thank you