eBooks

A talk by Sharon Day (she/her)

Director, Branch Services and Collections, Edmonton Public Library

The CULC eBook Task Force Working group works on behalf of public libraries to increase awareness of digital content issues and advocate for sustainable solutions. Key priorities of the group include sharing information on what is currently being done in Canada and the US with respect to e-books and e-audiobooks; implementing public awareness campaigns; advocating with politicians; as well as providing opportunities for collaboration across the public library community regarding issues related to digital content. In 2020 the group worked on the CULC COVID-19 Taskforce, launching a title available in English and French for the 2021 One eRead Canada campaign and collaborated with ULC to endorse and support Reader's first eLending study. Find out more about these initiatives and their impact, as well as what is coming next.

The increasing cost of post-secondary education is a problem faced by students across our country. Although libraries do not have control over contributors such as rising tuition fees and student debt loads, they can provide some financial relief through their collections. Library collection policies have traditionally been designed to exclude textbooks as items that are purchased. However, in the age of digital, the reasoning behind many of these policies could be called to question. Is it time to begin looking at expanding the library’s role in supporting students with some required course materials? How can we design library collections to support the curricular needs of users, while also balancing shrinking budgets and ensuring the needs of our entire communities are met? Over two semesters, Okanagan College Library saved students more than $110,000 in textbook costs by purchasing electronic versions of required and recommended books through library suppliers and making them available through the Library. Learn about the project and the steps involved, what worked well, and what we would recommend others do differently. 

A 15 minute presentation on the state of ebooks as presented at the 2018 Ebook and Digital Collections Summit hosted by the BC Libraries Cooperative in Vancouver, BC
Video link to be added when available.

A Look at Young Adult Use of Ebooks in Public Libraries.

Presentation on survey of attitudes towards print and ebooks by Engineering and Environmental Studies students at Seattle University