Establishing a Foundation

Trends in the Publishing Industry and User Communities As librarians navigate new realities of both information and financial landscapes, quantitative methods play a key role in analyzing the value of electronic content, particularly e-book collections, in order to demonstrate value and impact. To develop an effective framework for ongoing collection evaluation, it is important to establish a foundational knowledge of e-book publishing trends and local information needs that inform collection development decisions. There is already a wealth of knowledge resources available to information professionals that discuss the above-mentioned topics in detail. Instead of focusing on them in depth, this chapter provides a brief summary of information that informed projects later discussed in this issue of Library Technology Reports. At the end of this chapter, I have also compiled a short list of resources that I used to fill personal knowledge gaps. This list is by no means exhaustive and does somewhat lean toward academic library environments, but I hope it may provide a starting point for others who are beginning their own investigations into the world of e-book collection development. Brief Overview of the E-book Publishing Landscape E-books are regarded as a disruptive technology and have required publishers, aggregators, and information professionals to completely rethink purchasing models, business relationships, and acquisition workflows. On all sides of the equation, content creators and providers search for models that offer quick, seamless, and affordable access to e-book content. This is a time of experimentation, and factors such as publishing costs, intellectual property rights, and rapid advancements in technology mean that business models and workflows are often in flux. One common but largely incorrect assumption is that electronic content costs less to produce than print materials. However, the “basic tasks involved in creating e-books are very similar to those of creating a print book: acquisition, financing, production, marketing, sales, and delivery of books.” (1) In regard to total publication costs, manufacturing and distribution expenses account for only 12 percent of a print book’s retail price. (2) While this percentage can be eliminated from an e-book’s price tag, the electronic format comes with three additional costs not associated with print counterparts: digitized preparation in multiple formats, quality assurance, and digital distribution through a range of retailers that have unique upload and management protocols. (3) The e-book consumer market is based on a retail business model; customers pay for downloads of individual titles and content is stored on personal devices. This arrangement is similar to the way print titles are sold to consumers, including libraries. The acquisition of e-books by libraries is based on online supply models, meaning that content is hosted on a third-party website and libraries pay for access. This model creates an ongoing business relationship between libraries, publishers, and aggregators. There is typically an exchange of annual fees (either maintenance or subscription) to maintain host platforms and ensure that content access is not interrupted. The terms of the business relationship are outlined by license agreements, which also determine how users discover, access, and use e-books. In many cases, the shift in business practices creates challenges for both publishers and libraries. In order to produce content and remain in business, publishers have to develop business models that are economically viable. Many fear that providing perpetual access to e-books through libraries can ultimately impact sales of digital titles, place increased pressures on bookstores, decrease royalties paid to authors, or provide opportunities for piracy. (4) Libraries, on the other hand, state that e-book collections introduce texts to wider audiences and promote authors to patrons.