Mortgaging the future of universities the e-book package way

By Dan D'Agostino

Academic libraries seem to have a fatal attraction for e-book package deals. These very expensive packages eat up budgets and threaten to shrink collections. Having looked at how these deal don’t work for readers I thought I’d look in more detail at how they don’t work for libraries either.
E-book packages, where publishers sell libraries all their titles at once rather than allowing them to purchase title by title, make money from more than just the obvious way. Not only can providers inflate sales of obscure titles by adding them to packages, they can also inflate prices by charging for the amount of use their e-books are predicted to get. They do this through charging by “concurrent users” (cc users); that is, the number of people who can view an e-book at the same time. For example, a charge of 5 cc users would mean that five readers could access the same ebook at the same time.
This method makes a certain sense for popular titles. After all, when a print book gets popular we have to buy more than one copy to meet the demand. But content providers exploit this charge by setting all the titles in an e-book package at the same cc user level – you must pay for the same number of cc users regardless of how obscure a title may be. So, not only do you not get to choose which e-books to buy, you don’t get to choose what cc user level to limit each title at either.
Unlimited use = New head tax
Knowing cc user limits are unpopular with libraries, many providers now sell packages with “unlimited” cc use. But they use a neat trick to inflate prices here too. The trick is to charge each university by its size (so called “tiered pricing”), so that the larger the university, the higher the price. Again this makes a certain sense for heavily used e-books. But for all the others in the package big universities end up being penalized— paying a premium for e-books that are used much less frequently (if at all). In the print world we would only ever buy one copy of lesser used books, regardless of how big the university. Now we’re charged as if we were going to buy multiple copies of everything.
A much better e-book scenario for academic libraries is the one that public libraries have already seized upon: the downloadable ebook (the Overdrive model). Rather than sitting on a server these e-books are downloaded onto ereaders (and perhaps iPhones and iPods in time)! They come with DRM that limits the amount of time they can be used. Libraries can buy e-books by the copy this way, just like they do for print books (that is, one copy for most, multiple copies for heavily used). And better yet, it’s one price per one copy of an e-book, regardless of the size of the university that buys it. This is building an e-book collection using the same method that libraries used to build the great print collections that have driven scholarship for centuries.
Big packages have their fans
So, what’s with academic libraries? Why aren’t they waking up and demanding that publishers provide them with this model of ebook ownership? One reason may simply be that many library directors don’t realize that the Overdrive scenario is possible and that it works (you don’t have to have an e-reader to download these – a regular pc will do). But surely another reason big packages suit library directors just fine is that they enable them to build big e-book collections quickly, and having a big ebook collection looks great on paper! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) It helps you the library directory, and your library, look cutting edge.
A hidden bonus from the library director point of view is that they enable reduction of staff complements since packages don’t have to be selected by professionals on a title by title basis— providers simply do away with the selection altogether by selling you everything. And, since you’ve blown your budget on big packages, you don’t have to worry about selecting anything else either.
(The gradual deprofessionalization of academic librarians as a way of reducing staff is already underway—see this).
Should you care about this? Only if you care about universities, because good scholarship requires a wide range of sources of information and these big packages do the opposite by tying down budgets. The more money devoted to these packages the less there is available to buy books (e or otherwise) by smaller publishers. Anyone publishing outside the major publishers gets shut out of the conversation. I’ve actually heard library administrators rationalize this by saying that times have changed and that scholars don’t require the same breadth of information today. Perhaps, I’ve been told, scholars don’t need research libraries any more.
Well, whether they do or not, the continued addiction to package deals for e-books will certainly make sure they never get to use one. The logical end of tying down budgets this way will be a world where all big libraries have the same, homogenous e-book collection, composed of the same limited number of big packages, from the same limited number of big publishers. Not a great scenario if you care about universities. On the plus side though, it’s a pretty efficient way to run a library.

المصدر

http://www.teleread.org/2010/01/16/mortgaging-the-future-of-universities-the-ebook-package-way/?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Above+the+Fold&utm_campaign=Above+the+Fold

NetLibrary eBook of the Month

A monthly showcase of new and notable eBooks

The Procrastinator's Guide to Getting Things Done
By Monica Ramirez Basco Guilford Press, 2010Product ID: 307545

Everyone waits till the last minute sometimes. But many procrastinators pay a significant price, from poor job performance to stress, financial problems, and relationship conflicts. Expressly designed for people who want to make changes but would be easily daunted by an elaborate self-help program, this guide is packed with highly practical tips and suggestions.
Author and cognitive-behavioral therapy expert Monica Ramirez Basco peppers the book with easy-to-relate-to examples from "recovering procrastinators"—including herself. Inviting quizzes, exercises, and practical suggestions help you:
Understand why you procrastinate.
Start with small changes that lead to big improvements.
Outsmart your own delaying tactics.
Counteract self-doubt and perfectionism.
Build crucial skills for getting things done today.
Designed to increase awareness of online resources and highlight the value of your eBook collection, the February eBook of the Month is provided through the generous support of Guilford Press. Don’t miss the opportunity to share this concise and motivating self-help guide.
The Procrastinator's Guide to Getting Things Done will be provided with free, unlimited access February 1-28, 2010. Click below to learn more.

المصدر

http://whatcounts.com/dm?id=4999F4637C414EC7663257AB0959853AD7E1CC818E7927B7

View OCLC products and services

View OCLC products and services by:

Category

Alphabetically (A-Z)

Watch new records enter WorldCat ››

Watch WorldCat grow (LIVE) ››

WorldCat : A global catalog : Quality control

OCLC takes seriously its stewardship of WorldCat: More than 27,000 libraries around the world depend on the quality of its records.
OCLC ensures quality by fostering and adopting international standards; conducting our own programs here and at member institutions; and participating in other quality programs.
OCLC quality programs
These efforts make WorldCat a precise reference by eliminating duplicate records and correcting errors through manual and automated means.
WorldCat change requestsAll cataloging member libraries help improve record quality by requesting changes to WorldCat and authority records through the following request forms:
Authority record change
WorldCat record change
WorldCat duplicate record merge
Minimal Level Upgrades and Database EnrichmentAll cataloging member libraries are able to assist in ensuring quality of WorldCat master records. Minimal-level upgrade capabilities allow these libraries to add and modify all editable fields of less-than-full-level master records, and upgrade them to full-level or less-than-full level status. Database enrichment capabilities let these libraries enhance master records by adding call numbers and subject headings in schemes not already present in a record; adding fields 006 (Fixed-length Data Elements—Additional Material Characteristics) and 007 (Physical Description Fixed Field); adding field 300 (Physical Description) to CIP records; and adding or editing field 505 (Contents notes).

المصدر
http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/catalog/quality/default.htm

DIY Book Scanners Turn Your Books Into Bytes

By Priya Ganapati December 11, 2009

For nearly two years, Daniel Reetz dreamed of a book scanner that could crunch textbooks and spit out digital files he could then read on his PC.
Book scanners, like the ones Google is using in its Google Books project, run into thousands of dollars, putting them out of the reach of a graduate student like Reetz. But in January, when textbook prices for the semester were listed, Reetz decided he would make a book scanner that would cost a fraction of commercially available products.
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/DIY_Book_Scanners_Turn_Your_Books_Into_Bytes';
So over three days, and for about $300, he lashed together two lights, two Canon Powershot A590 cameras, a few pieces of acrylic and some chunks of wood to create a book scanner that’s fast enough to scan a 400-page book in about 20 minutes. To use it, he simply loads in a book and presses a button, then turns the page and presses the button again. Each press of the button captures two pages, and when he’s done, software on Reetz’s computer converts the book into a PDF file. The Reetz DIY book scanner isn’t automated–you still need to stand by it to turn the pages. But it’s fast and inexpensive.
“The hardware is ridiculously simple as long as you are not demanding archival quality,” he says. “A dumpster full of building materials, really cheap cameras and outrageous textbook prices was all I needed to do it.”
Reetz went on to upload a 79-step how-to guide for building a book scanner (.pdf). The guide has sparked more than 400 comments. It has also spawned a website, DIYbookscanner.org, where more than 50 independent book scanners spread across countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Britain have contributed hardware refinements and software programs.
Now wearing a large black coat and a carrying a duffel bag that’s stuffed with a scanner made from laser-cut plywood, Reetz goes to conferences to show how anyone can create a machine to scan all the books they own.
As consumers turn to e-readers — about 3 million are expected to be sold by the end of the year — they are also looking for ways to bring their old textbooks and paperbacks into the digital world. And a small group is discovering that the best way to do that is to create a scanner yourself. The scanner is also helping digitize out-of-print books and help people with disabilities get features like text-to-speech that publishers won’t offer or are downright opposed to.
A DIY book scanner also raises questions of piracy and copyright. The basic question being: Do you really own a book in all its forms when you buy a book?
At the same time, ironically, the DIY book scanner is helping new create new tools to make copyright information more accessible. Tulane University is building a scanner based on Reetz’s design that would let it digitize its collection of copyright documents. That is expected to help the university develop a web-based service called ‘Durationator’ that would allow anyone to search copyright information about any particular book, to see if it is currently in the public domain or not.
“It’s amazing that a DIY book scanner is helping create the very tool that will offer copyright information,” says Reetz. “It makes me very proud.”
Scanners are commonplace — just walk into a Target, and you can find a scanner-printer combo for $100– but those machines are designed to digitize photos and documents.
A flatbed scanner can take between 15 and 30 seconds to capture a single page, so a 400-page book could take about an hour-and-a-half to three hours of work. Not to mention that the design of the scanners means that you have to open the book binding wide and press it flat, which can damage the book.
Instead, book scanners are designed to hold the book open at a 90-degree angle. A cradle holds the book face up so that it is gentle on the binding. This kind of scanner is also faster, because it can capture images of two pages simultaneously, using a camera instead of a scanning element. But commercial book scanners that are completely automated cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000. The $50,000 Kirtas book scanner, for instance, can capture 3,000 pages an hour.
Reetz’s scanner cuts that cost to a bare minimum: All you need are two basic digital cameras and some readily available construction materials. All the software and post-processing programs are open source and available for free.
But creating the system required a few hacks and a dash of ingenuity. Inexpensive digital cameras are ideal, but they have limitations. For starters, you need to hold down a button to click a picture. And the two cameras in a book scanner need to be synchronized.
Reetz found a program called Stereodatamaker for Canon cameras that could synchronize multiple cameras and flash. All users have to do it is download it to a SD card and insert it into their camera.
“The cameras are running hacked firmware and it works pretty well,” he says.”Then we take it to a whole new level for processing the images.

That would be with some help from Scan Tailor, an open source application written by 29-year old Russian programmer Joseph Artsimovich. Scan Tailor can take the raw, scanned images of the book and split the pages, add or remove borders and process all of the images into a single file.
“You absolutely need post-processing software for digitizing books,” says Artsimovich. “If you tryto digitize a book without such software, chances are you will give up because it’s just too much work.”
From there, a program called Page Builder — written by a friend of Reetz — can take the images and process them into a PDF file.
Reetz says the DIY book-scanning forum isn’t about distributing pirated content, but he can see the temptation.
“My project was founded in angry desperation,” he says. “It was a watershed moment when I realized getting an 8-megapixel Canon camera was cheaper than buying a bunch of textbooks.”
But is it legal?
So are Reetz and the builders of the DIY scanner pirates? That would depend on who you talk to, says Pamela Samuelson, a professor at University of California at Berkeley, who specializes in digital-copyright law. Trade publishers are almost certain to cry copyright infringement, she says, though it may not necessarily be the case.
Google was recently forced to pay $125 million to settle with angry book publishers and authors who claimed copyright infringement as a result of the search giant’s book-scanning project.
But not so individual users who already own the book, says Samuelson. If you scan a book that you have already purchased, it is “fine, and fair use,” she says. “Personal-use copying should be deemed to be fair, unless there is a demonstrable showing of harm to the market for the copyright at work,” says Samuelson.
For publishers, though, the growth of the DIY scanning community could hurt. Publishers today sell digital versions to customers who already own hardcover or paperback versions of the same book.
“You cannot look at this idea from the perspective of whether the publisher can make extra money,” says Samuelson. “Publishers would love it if you can’t resell books either, but that’s not going to happen.”
Instead, communities such as these are likely to force publishers to offer more value to customers, she says.
“There have to be things that you get with an e-book that you don’t get by making your own copies,” says Samuelson. “It’s not such as stark challenge for copyright owners, because not many people are going to take the trouble to make their own scanner system. Most of us want the convenience of buying digital books for the Kindle, Nook or Sony Reader.”
And unless, it becomes a hotbed of pirated content, the DIY scanner is unlikely to have a Napster-like end, says Samuelson.
Check out the video below of Daniel Reetz talking about why DIY scanner is fun.

المصدر

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/diy-book-scanner/?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Above+the+Fold&utm_campaign=Above+the+Fold