The challenge of delivering on user expectation in a one-click world

1© 2012 JOANNE PERCY

The challenge of delivering on user

expectation in a one-click world

Joanne PercyEastern Washington University

& Krista Higham

Millersville University

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User expectations are a challenge

© 2012 JOANNE PERCY

In a world that is increasingly digital…… user expectations threaten to exceed the capabilities of libraries to fulfill them

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We live in a one-click world


Users accustomed to Amazon and iTunes want one-click access.

Yet ordering an eBook in a library is almost always a complicated process.

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Waiting in line for an eBook?


Waiting in line for an eBook seems as antiquated as the

card catalog

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The digital revolution has faltered


The idea of increased accessibility promised by digital materials has been compromised.

Significant technical and licensing issues are proving near insurmountable.

Interlibrary Loan Departments are facing higher cancellation rates – often due to licensing problems.

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Libraries and publishers are at war


Interlibrary Loan is still mostly print-based – eBook lending is

possible but publishers are resisting

The result is a crisis of accessibility

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Lending eBooks


Does your library/organization loan e-books via Interlibrary loan?

No 92.40%Yes 6.10%Unsure 1.50%


No, The person who does our negotiating is good about telling us after the fact, however.

Our acquisitions person is very territorial and disorganized, does not appreciate being asked about the licensing parameters, or anything else, ever.

We're in the process of investigating the possibilities.

Only using overdrive right now, through our consortium

Indirectly with acquisitions. They understand that we want to be able to lend the entire book not just a copy of a chapter.

From the technical standpoint, I'm not sure how it would be possible to lend an e-book. To me, it would only be acceptable if the end-user had the same access as the patrons at the lending institution.

We don't subscribe to the lendable e-book collections.

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Negotiating contracts


Is your ILL department involved in e-book licensing negotiations? [For example: directly involved with the vendors or indirectly with your acquisitions and collection development dept.)

No 77.80%Yes 14.30%Unsure 7.90%

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Acquisitions and Collection Development MUST include an ILL representative

Too often the Interlibrary loan department isn’t part of the discussion…


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The Way Forward


Take a Stand Form wider consortiums Embrace multiple platforms Join together, both regionally and nationally Be visible, be heard

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In April of this year, Harvard wrote to its faculty members:

“Major Periodical Subscriptions Cannot Be Sustained…Many large journal publishers have made the scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive. This situation is exacerbated by efforts of certain publishers to acquire, bundle, and increase the pricing on journals…”

Take a Stand


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Blaze the Trail


Douglas County Libraries, in Colorado, is trying something new: buying eBooks directly from publishers and hosting them on its own platform. Douglas County Libraries’ model for purchasing eBooks directly from publishers is gaining interest from more and larger publishers, with five more joining...DCL’s revolutionary distribution model is attracting not just publishers, but libraries across the nation.

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Form wider consortiums


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Embrace one-click access across multiple platforms


One-Click

Kindle

Nook

Open source?

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A bright line between academic and public institutions


Maintain a bright line between academic institutions, which have more freedom to charge users…

…and public institutions, which are fundamentally rooted in

providing free access.

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Fifty Shades of [insert joke here]


Look at things from a publisher’s POV

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Look to the music and movie industry


piracy is a service problem

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End the Library-Publisher war – give them a profit motive


Users expect an iTunes experience

They are also prepared to pay for it

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Pilot Project using Nooks and Kindles in ILL


Stage One:

Purchase 10 Nooks & 10 Kindles (& peripherals) for EWU ILL Patrons

Train staff, Promote program, Hold eReader ‘clinics’

Purchase eBooks when cost of ILL would be same or more expensive (includes shipping, IFM fee and staff time)

Check out Nook or Kindle to patron - STL

Lending device to device would reduce loss, damage and overdue fees

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Pilot Project continued…


Stage Two:

Assess the value and success of the program

Add more eReaders and widen service to Circulation Desk

Allow patron-driven acquisition and instant checkout

Stage Three:

Widen service to library to library lending?

Open Source software/Open Access policies


• When to purchase ILL requests instead of borrow?

• If requested, often predicts future use.

Interlibrary Loan eBook Pilot Project

http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?rsrc=265

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Thank You!


The challenge of delivering on user expectation in a one-click world

Documents

digital world

capabilities of libraries

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digital user expectations

public libraries

limits libraries

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