Academic e-books in Swedish university libraries: acquisition, licensing, and promotion for sustainable collections
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31355851Keywords:
e-books, acquisition models, digital rights management, credits, licensing, accessibility, promotion, academic librariesAbstract
Introduction. This paper focuses on the processes relevant to creating sustainable e-book collections, namely, the acquisition, licensing, and promotion of e-books in academic libraries.
Method. Thirteen librarians from eight southern Swedish university libraries participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded digitally, and the transcripts served as the data for analysis.
Analysis. Qualitative thematic analysis, drawing on Schatzki's practice theory, was conducted on the data, and open coding was carried out using MS Word and Excel.
Results. The results show that the acquisition process of e-books is determined by the decisions of librarians. Libraries use title-by-title acquisition, evidence-based acquisition (EBA), demand-driven acquisition (DDA), and the credits model. Difficulties with licensing and digital rights management (DRM) may hinder academic e-books from being fully appreciated by users. A major advantage of e-books is that they can be read by multiple users simultaneously. Promoting e-books meets with varying success, which can be attributed to a lack of knowledge among users, and a lack of promotional efforts by librarians.
Conclusions. The distinction between the management of electronic and print budgets is often not well defined. Academic e-books may become more accepted among users if digital rights management limitations were lifted and proper licensing terms were implemented. Librarians should present thorough marketing plans based on user-centred acquisition and expand communication with the user base through interactive channels such as social media.
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