Unbeknownst to most users, the University Library has been monitoring the use of e-books since January and purchasing only those that are most popular. The pilot program, run in conjunction with ebrary, an e-book vendor, aims to expedite the process of growing the library's collection.
The program allows the University to gather data on how people use e-books — whether users flip through pages, print full books or read texts online cover to cover, said David Banush, associate University librarian for access services.
The Library pre-loaded over 1,000 titles into the Josiah catalog in January, Banush said. Though these e-books are available to users, the library does not purchase them until a user performs certain actions, such as continuously interacting with the text for over 10 minutes or printing material from it.
As of Nov. 4, 1,092 of the 1,150 titles available have been viewed. Thirty percent of those viewed were purchased.
Titles are added to ebrary every day, but the library pre-sorts through them before offering titles that "a library like Brown would collect," Banush said.
Within the confines of the pilot program, selections have been made available to four disciplines, including anthropology — the only department informed of the program. Faculty and students in the three other disciplines received no direction or information about the program. Banush requested that the names of those disciplines not be published because the pilot program is ongoing. The Library is interested in the different types of data it will collect by controlling the experiment, he said.
Andrew Scherer, assistant professor of anthropology and archeology, directly requests books for the library to purchase, a lengthy affair because all purchases must pass through the library's budget process. He said he tries to order books in the e-book format even when ordering them through the traditional system. "It's a much better format because students can access the books more rapidly," he said.
But there is a "managed risk" involved with the program, Banush said. Currently, the library processes requests for new texts on a case-by-case basis, but this step is cut from the e-book program, where purchases are automatic. Banush said the Library is well within its budget.
The program allows the Library to collect data not made available by the analysis of traditional services. The reports show when someone has looked at an e-book, a statistic that cannot be measured for regular books, Banush said. Ebrary has been providing the library with weekly usage reports since January. The reports also reveal use by department, finding that most purchases are made in the anthropology department, Banush said.
While anthropologists are more likely to "be tied to the print," members of the other sciences rely more heavily on web-based journal articles, not books, he said.
The Library wants to let the program "run its course" before making any decisions about continuing the service, Banush said. The nature of the Library is changing, he said. "We're very much in a transition phase of uncertain duration where we'll have to provide some mix of traditional and new services."
