Electronic Resources: E-books

Electronic resources have become more important to libraries. Electronic resources provide 24 hours access to library books and journal materials.  A current trend is offering e-books at your local library. Libraries offer e-books through services such as 3M and OverDrive.  Polanka (2012) writes that the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies believe that e-books will be the preferred reading tool of the future (p 42).   Due to this prediction it is good for libraries to understand ebook lending.

E-book lending offers 24 hour access to e-books through sites like OverDrive that can be downloaded to the OverDrive applications, or transferred and downloaded to a computer.  Downloading e-books is very convenient and can be easy once a patron understands the process.  Library patrons must be signed on with a user name, which is usually a library card number, and a password that they can remember.  This information is unique for each patron and identifies the users.  The Patron Driven Access (PDA) must be used in this situation so that only those that are allowed to have access have it. 

Convenience is a pro for downloadable e-books.  A con would be the cost of providing electronic resources.  Roncevic (2013) states that many of the publishers still impose strict lending periods such as Harper Collins 26 check outs and Random House’s e-book markup on the price, in some cases 300% (p 8-9).   With lending periods short, libraries must purchase multiple lending rights.  Or the price is marked up more than what is offered at consumer prices.

As technology advances and e-reading becomes more popular, it is a good thing that libraries are already on top of electronic resources.  Below is an overview of how to download e-books to devices.

References

Polanka, S. (2013). Ebook access: business models for subscription services. Online Searcher,
            37(2), 65-67.

Roncevic, M. (2013). Criteria for purchasing e-book platforms. Library Technology Reports,
            49(3), 9-13.