Evaluating 'their' selections - the value of customer ebook purchases

摘要

Many academic libraries have experimented with the acquisition of electronic books and in particular customerinitiated selection. The experiences at University of Texas at Dallas are interesting because of the length of time using the customer model as well as the size of the eBook collections. Comparing the demand for print and electronic formats based on circulation or usage of the material brings a level of analysis to questions involving the future of collection development. The usage at UT Dallas indicates the profile for customer selection is critical to the acquisition of quality materials. Given the usage of customer selection, the University will continue and increase the level of commitment to this model of acquisition. The usage of customer selections is strong, money is saved from enabling short term loans rather than purchasing, and space is saved. While not all students and faculty use eBooks the demand as reflected in the statistics provided by vendors indicates a level of acceptance for the format.