Frank BlackInformation Services Manager

Wiltshire Libraries

another flaganother flag

A

libraries lend bookslibraries lend books

public libraries provide information too

…

… and have been for over 150 years

Have you seen my friend please?

I’ll just check that on the catalogue, sir.

“I’m just hereto keep dry”

“to copy my

birth certificate”

“Can you tell mewhere Waterstones is?”

“where’s the toilet?”

“I’d like to see my neighbour’s

planning application”

“That boy over there just hit me!”

“Yesterdays Telegraph, please … and be quick

about it.”

We’re from Portugal

I’m from Mauritius

I’m just waiting for a friend

I’m from Austria

just visitingjust visiting

• they might be out-of-datethey might be out-of-date

problems in buying e-resourcesproblems in buying e-resources

• they might be out-of-datethey might be out-of-date  • they might tend to limit the horizons of our users they might tend to limit the horizons of our users (and our staff)(and our staff)

problems in buying e-resourcesproblems in buying e-resources

• they might be out-of-datethey might be out-of-date  • they might tend to limit the horizons of our users they might tend to limit the horizons of our users (and our staff)(and our staff) • they are expensivethey are expensive

problems in buying e-resourcesproblems in buying e-resources

“Perhaps there’s an alternative…”

Aaja Ko Samacharpatra (Nepali daily) Mahanagar (Evening Daily) Annapurna Post (Pro-Indian daily) Muna (Magazine for children) Apsara (Monthly Magazine in Nepali) Navayug Awake Weekly Chronicle (English) Nepal Pakshik (Independent bimonthly) Budhabar (Weekly) Nepal Samacharpatra (Independent daily) Business Age (English) Nepal Today Deshantar (Nepali weekly) Nepali Times (Independent Weekly) Dishanirdesh (Weekly) New Era Drishti (Nepali weekly) Nispakshya (Weekly) Explore Nepal (Weekly) People's Review Gatibidi (Weekly) Rajdhani (Independent daily) Gorkhapatra (Govt-owned Nepali daily) Rashtriya Samachar Samiti (Govt-owned) Himal Khabarpatrika (Ind. bimonthly) Rising Nepal – (Govt. owned English daily) Himal South Asia - English Sandhya Times (Daily) Himalayan Times (Independent) Saptahik Bimarsha Independent (Kathmandu) Satyagraha (Weekly) Janaaastha (Weekly) Spacetime (Independent daily) Janadharana (Weekly) Spotlight (Independent weekly) Janmabhumi Saptahik Sunday Despatch (Weekly) Kamana (Monthly magazine) Sunday Post Kantipur (Independent daily) Tasapaw (Weekly in Newari) Kathmandu Post (Independent) Telegraph (Weekly) Koseli (Nepali weekly) Today's Youth (ind.youth-oriented) Madhuparka Young Herald

selected Nepali media titles

£465

  

• they provide a safe way for children and other vulnerable they provide a safe way for children and other vulnerable users to search electronic content users to search electronic content

• they are free of sex they are free of sex

• they might be authoritative they might be authoritative

and as a bonusand as a bonus

• they allow librarians to identify Gershon savingsthey allow librarians to identify Gershon savings

paid for e-resources offer a number of big advantages over free content

  

• they provide a safe way for children and other vulnerable they provide a safe way for children and other vulnerable

users to search electronic contentusers to search electronic content

•they are free of sex they are free of sex

• they might be authoritative they might be authoritative

and as a bonusand as a bonus

• they allow librarians to identify Gershon savingsthey allow librarians to identify Gershon savings

paid for e-resources offer a number of big advantages over free content

Gershon saving

Reference Books Online

The collection = 134 titles30 libraries X 134 titles = 4,020 booksCost = £5,000In hard copy at av.price of £17 per book this would buy 294 books So for the same price we can buy 3726 extra books

Or put another way

Each library has access to 134 books @£17 or £2,238 worth of books 30 libraries X £2,238 = £67,140butReference books Online = £5,000So we have made a ‘saving’ of £62,140.

for the first time we have an accurate way of measuring the use of reference resources

…and make sure you count them

• Newsbank• Oxford University Press• Thomson/Gale• Proquest• Kompass• CANS• Cobweb• xrefer• Enyclopaedia Britannica• Independence

Usage data: “We can supply Number of company profiles viewed”

Usage data: “We’re thinking about it”

• Establishing the cost per use of individual products

• Measuring the impact of promotional or marketing activities

• Identifying variations in the use of specific titles within a product

• Measuring virtual library use

usage data

  Annual usage

Annual cost

Cost per session/search

Product A 2487 4200 £2.95

Product B 5240 5000 £0.95

Product C 2570 4200 £1.63

Product D 299 7800 £26.09

e-resource

The Times Digital Archive Nov 2004 - Sep 2005

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Nov-04 Dec-04 Jan-05 Feb-05 Mar-05 Apr-05 May-05 Jun-05 Jul-05 Aug-05 Sep-05

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Newspapers Online - individual title usageNewspapers Online - individual title usage datadata

Newspapers Online

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Change of supplier

• IT taster sessions in the library focussing on e-resources• Spaces adjacent to library computers - keyboard strips, mousemats, posters & leaflets, screensavers, carrier bags, pens, bookmarks, new member packs• Display screens, in-shelf displays

Monitor strip

Keyboard strip

Mousemat

Mouse

fun

in-library promotion

• Quizzes• e-resource champions• Staff meetings, newsletters & noticeboards

• Local press coverage for new titles• Prize competitions• Mailings to schools (homework help)• Adverts in local magazines/prospectuses

for staff

outside the library

To sum up the biggest problem for me as a librarian is the invisibility of e-resources.The challenge is to prove to our funders that electronic information has a permanent role in the future of public libraries. I need to make sure that I get the right products at the right price and make them pay.

The challenge

“In the world today less than 10% of the information is online.”

Nikesh Arora, Head of Google, Europe 2005i

but… not everything is on the web

www.projectcounter.org www.rba.co.uk/sources (Karen Blakeman’s pages)www.wikipedia.orgwww.britannica.comwww.bl.uk/collections/business/bisheets.html (British Library Industry Guides)www.culture.gov.uk/global/publications/archive_2004/ (Virtual visits)www.fotw.net (Flags of the World)www.knowuk.co.ukwww.nepalitimes.comwww.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook (CIA World Factbook)www.epnet.com (Ebsco for UK Reference Centre))www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/gateway www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/ (Ukrainian Government portal)www.bbc.co.uk/nepali

All sites visited October 2005

References