Plymouth eBook Project

Phil Gee

the idea

• customer is the school, not its students (core texts).

key benefits

• teach knowing ALL students can access reading (anywhere)

• level playing field

• note sharing (for starters ... nexus for educational tech)

• frees up library resources.

works well because

•books ‘belong’ to student*

•read anywhere, any time

•encourages ‘reading for a degree’

current provisionsubject (no. books) subject (no. books)

psychology (23) geography (5)

environmental sci (6) biomedical Sciences

(7)

marine biology (5)biological Sciences

(5)

earth sciences (4)maths & statistics

(12)

computing (8) accountancy (3).

good for publishers

•much more predictable

•multi-year deal cost and market advantages

•universities less likely to pirate their stuff

good for us

•we do our job more effectively

•we have happy students

surveyEighty-six first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded

any positive comments?

any negative comments?

I think its a fantastic scheme. Instead of having to lug around heavy books every day, I can read all of the books and make my own personal notes and highlight onto both of my laptops and take them everywhere with only the need for a small bag (as I have a netbook laptop). Its very accessible and its even better that apart from whilst downloading the books, the internet is not even needed. Fantastic!

surveyEighty-six first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded

any positive comments?

any negative comments?

Puts everyone at an advantage right from the beginning of the course and not only the people who can afford books. saves waiting in an endless waiting list for a book. easily accessed and portable.

its harder to read alot on a computer screen i feel it strains my eyes more than a paper book

survey102 first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded in May

2013

any positive comments?

any negative comments?

Very useful, particularly for students lacking the resources to acquire the books in print, which can be very expensive. Also, as university courses become increasingly grounded in digital media, the ebooks scheme was a good way to roll with the times.

Have none. I think this was a great initiative.

survey102 first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded in May

2013

any positive comments?

any negative comments?

I find it much easier to read from my computer/phone as Im much more used to reading articles etc. online than I am to reading books. Also, not having to physically carry around the books makes things much easier for me. Making notes and highlighting is also much easier, as is searching for these. Searching for specific terms is also far easier with an eBook.

surveyEighty-six first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded

any positive comments?

any negative comments?

I like the on line tutorials on the e books they help me. Also I prefer to read e books in bed as I can make the print bigger and I dont drop it on my chihuihua dog, like i do with normal books.

i found it odd reading books from a computer screen but soon got used to it. I do prefer the printed books but want to get more used to the e books. Also they are really good for the environment.

survey conclusions•students like the scheme

• the format (pdf or reflowable) makes a difference

•55% Psych Stage 1 had heard of scheme prior to joining us. Of these, 44% said that eBooks had influenced their decision.

•we need to do some training

goal: september 2014

• new Plymouth undergraduates get core texts at start of course

• 120 programmes

• 450 modules

• 6700 students.

challenge: working with academics

•herding cats would be easier

•decision: which available texts suitable?

•commit to several years?

•email isn’t enough

•a new cost.

challenge: working with publishers

•like herding partially-trained cats

•variation in digital & institutional strategies

•variation in pricing policy

•RRP RIP?.

challenge: working together

•find ways to collect & share data

•focus on service not products

•clear and realistic pricing

final thoughts

• really exciting time in academic publishing

• opportunity to put quality (& enhanced?) texts in to back pockets

• chance to develop new partnerships & ways of thinking about content.

surveyeighty-six first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded

print eBookscombina-tion

I prefer studying from

36% 6% 58%.

surveyeighty-six first-year Psychology undergraduates at Plymouth University responded

yes no

Have you bought any of the books in the bundle in print form?

52% 48%

Did you buy books on the supplementary reading lists?

29% 71%.

Sage

Pearson

Hodder

Cengage

McGraw Hill

Taylor & Francis

Wiley Blackwell

Palgrave Macmillan.

suppliers