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How to talk to your users about why eBooks are terrible. In 2013, the OCUL consortium purchased scholarly eBook collections with much stricter DRM. This session will explore the implications of this new model on technological support and infrastructure within the consortium, and will examine usage data and user feedback to illustrate how library users are accessing (or not accessing) borrowable eBooks. Presented at ER&L 2014 Austin, Texas Jacqueline Whyte Appleby & Meghan Ecclestone
Citation preview
MoreLicenses,
More Problems
about why eBooks are terrible
How to talk to your users
@jwhyteappleby
@mjecclestone
photo by Flickr user ithinkx
Who we areJacqueline Whyte ApplebyClient Services Librarian
Scholars Portal, Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL)
Meghan EcclestoneInstructional Librarian
York University
eBooks aren’t terrible
eBooks aren’t terribleThey’re teenagers!
“Part chameleon, part revolutionary, and part adolescent, the ebook challenges our assumptions on the nature and use of long-form scholarship in today's world. It is therefore a time of much experimentation and questioning, as libraries try to harness the rich potential of the ebook to support learning and teaching in a sustainable manner.”- Tony Horova, “Today and in Perpetuity” J. Acad. Librariansh.
eBooks aren’t terribleThey’re teenagers!
● always changing● often hard to find● difficult to interact with
Scholars Portal • The service arm of the Ontario Council of University Libraries
(OCUL)
• Scholars Portal provides 10+ digital services, including acting as a Trustworthy Digital Repository for our journals content
• Among many other tasks, OCUL facilitates consortial negotiation of books & journals for loading into SP Books & Journals
Scholars Portal Books
Scholars Portal Books● Mandate is around both access and preservation
● 200,000 commercial titles, 600,000 public domain/OA
● Content historically available in PDF or XML
● DRM exists, but chapter-level or 10% of book download always allowed
2013: Brand new DRM!
2013: Brand new DRM!
• Single user only
• Book must be downloaded to be read
• Often no copying or printing allowed
• After 72 hours, books are automatically returned
But...why?
But...why?• University Presses heavily reliant on course-
adoption, and on Canadian market
But...why?• University Presses heavily reliant on course-
adoption, and on Canadian market
• We really, really wanted everything
But...why?• University Presses heavily reliant on course-
adoption, and on Canadian market
• We really, really wanted everything
• Licenses re-examined annually
Questions to ask
• What’s a good loan period?
• How hard do we want to push Adobe Digital Editions?
• How much do we want to explain?
Challenges
ChallengesInability to control ADE layout & wording
ChallengesInability to use materials on a public computer
ChallengesFaculty wanting to use material in their class
User Experience Testing
• Setting: York University
• Attempt to test both a user’s ability to access a title, and their perception of borrowable eBooks
• Failure rate: 100%
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
• .exe files = foreign.
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
• .exe files = foreign.
• Returning eBooks = never gonna happen.
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
• .exe files = foreign.
• Returning eBooks = never gonna happen.
• Terms like, “borrow”, “loan” etc... are equated with paying. And that scares students.
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
• .exe files = foreign.
• Returning eBooks = never gonna happen.
• Terms like, “borrow”, “loan” etc... are equated with paying. And that scares students.
• People probably don’t read instructions. Ever.
Lessons learned: • Adobe = PDFs. And that’s it.
• .exe files = foreign.
• Returning eBooks = never gonna happen.
• Terms like, “borrow”, “loan” etc... are equated with paying. And that scares students.
• People probably don’t read instructions. Ever.
• Students forgive. And still prefer eBooks to print.
The ParadoxAre you disheartened by the fact that you couldn’t download the eBook?
“Having to go through the process of downloading Adobe, it would cause me quite a bit of frustration and conflict.”
The ParadoxOverall what are your impressions of the user experience?
“To download it, I think that’s fine and my impression is that having it in eBook format is much, much easier than having to come to the library. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier to use it.”
Getting users ready/Getting ready for your users
• Train the trainer!
• Test your interface!
And What About Us?
