Ordering eBooks for the Library
March 6, 2012 by Reader's Connection
The job of ordering ebooks for the library is complicated and ever-shifting, as you´ll learn when Jon Barnes interviews Selector Robin Bradford on the subject.
To hear the interview, you need to click first on the arrow. Then when the title "Ordering eBooks at the Indianapolis Public Library" appears, click on that.
Category Interview, Website Feature | Tags: Downloadable, Downloadable eBooks
Not as easy is it appears to the public.
Great discussion on a confusing aspect of our ebook collection. Hope to see many more of these!
Seriously interesting subject. That Robin is really knowledgeable!!
This is so interesting… I really love the fact that IMCPL has e-books available in a growing collection. I didn’t know that each publisher had such differing models, it must be a lot to keep up with!
I’m an IU library school grad student. Is the library’s budget for spending on ebooks growing year-to-year? At what rate? Of the library’s total budget for acquisitions, is the share devoted to ebooks growing annually as a percent of the total? At what rate?
Thanks for the video and for answering my questions.
Hi, Michael–
Order Specialist George Flexman has sent these figures in response to your question. I’m listing the total budgets for materials for four years, and then the amount budgeted for downloadable e-books, audiobooks and music, and the percentage which that downloadables figure represents. I hope this displays in a coherent manner.
2009 Total 6,256,593.25 downloadables 100,000 2%
2010 Total 4,622,700.00 downloadables 175,000 4%
2011 Total 5,629,500.00 downloadables 775,000 14%
2012 Total 5,941,272.00 downloadables 1,000,000 17%
Glenn Halberstadt
Reader’s Connection
What can individuals and libraries do to encourage publishers not to charge more for e-book editions than they do for paperback or hardcover editions? They do not have to print or distribute. It should be cheaper.