Backlist Ebooks & the Library MarketOne librarian’s perspective

Jason Price, PhDInterim Library Director / ConsultantClaremont Colleges Library / SCELCAAUP Boston June 21 2013

What do librarians think about backlist ebooks?

“I don’t have a budget for those, heck I don’t have a budget for new ones!”

“I’m happy to buy them on request or demand, but don’t want to purchase until we have a demonstrated need”

“I don’t like packages, can I pick & choose?”

“If they’re in collections, they’d better be cheap!”

Backfile income from libraries…Opportunity

1.Ebook aggregator backfile subscriptions

2.Publisher-hosted backfile packages

3.“Out of print” DDA loans &

purchases

Challenge

1.Little income? Competes w/ DDA?

2.Requires deep discounts or a new model

3.Long term availability for DDA purchase

1) Aggregator backfile subscriptions

Excerpt from Price & Mcdonald 2012, http://goo.gl/KsVO1

Subscription cost less than a penny on the dollar per year!

Subscribable Ebrary Ebooks = 77,482 purchase price $5,670,776 (single-user price)

≤ $3.75/FTE… so for 5000 fte = $18750/year% of list price per year = 0.33% (multi-user price)Years to buy = 300+ years!

Ebsco subscription pricing is similar…

Q.E.D. Libraries investing in aggregator ebooks should subscribe to both packages and avoid buying individual books that are (or will be!) available by subscription…

2) Publisher-hosted backfile collections

Benefits of DRM-free content outweighed by aversion to collections

Solution 1: Dime on the dollar pricing (or less)!

Solution 2: Evidence-based custom collections

EBASS 25 Youtube VideoOutstanding 10 minute intro to all things PDA

http://bit.ly/ebassPDA

Disruptive Technology

Disturbingly Disruptive Acquisition

Ebook PDA and DDA ->

Predictability-Destroying Acquisition

3) DDA Rentals and Purchases

Solution: Partner with book agents, aggregators & libraries to extend DDA availability of university press content

3) DDA Rentals and Purchases

Hathi Trust & Google books

Putting the Ebook Aggregator Marketplace into stark perspective

Excerpt from Price & Mcdonald 2012, http://goo.gl/KsVO1

Hathi By the

decade

1990-99n = 785,758

1960-69n = 624,845

1970-79n = 722,697

1980-89n = 823,151

Ebook Marketplace is only 1/3 as large as Hathi for 2000-09 books

Google books casts an even longer shadow

http://visualcv.com/lpq4t1s

Questions for later discussion?

Q: Will libraries replace their print book holdings with ebook versions?

A: Not for quite a while… (Journals 1st)

Q: Why do we need e-backlists since libraries can scan print & post on courseware?

A: only covers 10% of a book - SIPX

Q: Won’t Hathi & Google provide this service / swoop in?

A: Hathi – No. Google – maybe.