E-books for Academic Libraries in the USA
Ying Zhang
Acquisitions & Collection Services
University of Central Florida Libraries
Orlando, USA
ying.zhang@ucf.edu
Abstract—In recent years, E-books have grown rapidly to
enrich library collections of the U.S.A. Many academic libraries
started to establish an e-preferred policy for their book collection
policy, while some others are holding a more balanced approach
to collect both formats as they see fit for each discipline and
content. From years of implementation of e-books, the author
of this article discusses the main characteristics that set e-books
apart from print books, shares author’s view on the pros and
cons of e-books and attempts to predict the future of book
collections for the academic libraries in the U.S.
Keywords—e-book; acquisitions; DRM; Digital Rights
Management; platform; access
I. Introduction
An electronic book (or e-book) is a book publication
made available in digital form, consisting of text, images,
or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or
other electronic devices [2]. This idea predates the Internet.
However, the very first electronic book is widely believed
to be created by Michael S. Hart in 1971 by converting the
Declaration of Independence digitally and making it available
on the Internet as part of the Project Gutenberg [1].
In early years, e-books were either created by transcribing
the text digitally from their print published books, or created
and stored electronically on a digital medium, such as floppy
or compact disc, but still published and distributed in print.
The format started as text only, and changed approximately in
early 1990s when electronic readers, also know as e-readers
or e-book players, were invented to display and distribute
e-book contents. And as the Internet gaining popularity, the
prevailing format transitioned to HTML and then XML. In
1999, National Institute of Standards & Technology released
Open e-book format, from which most e-books created in
the next two decades derived their formats. Standardized
format was critical to the success of e-book as the content
is no longer “locked” with a device. In 2000, Stephen King
released his new novel Riding the Bullet online, marking the
inception of mass market selling of e-books. In mid to late
2000s, prominent book sellers such as Amazon and Barnes &
Noble all developed their hugely popular e-readers including
Kindle and Nook, and further propel the commercialization
of e-books.
U.S. Government work not protected by U.S. copyright
II. E-books in Academic Libraries of U.S.
The libraries in the U.S. played crucial roles in the
evolution of e-books from the very beginning as a content
provider, progressing to early adopter and eventually to
become the biggest carrier. Project Gutenberg was designed
to digitalize library book collections wherever copyright
permitted. It wasn’t till the late 1990s when libraries in the
U.S. started adopting e-books as part of their collections.
Many public and academic libraries started purchasing and
circulated e-books on popular e-readers including Rocket
Book, SoftBook. Acquiring and maintaining the e-reader
devices and the content was a novice idea that proved
resource-draining. In 1998, NetLibrary was founded to
deliver e-books on the web. It collected and indexed
thousands of books online, making it easier for the users
to access and share. In the decade following, developments
in e-book reader, e-book contents, web-based publishing
and digital rights management (DRM) have grown
exponentially. Libraries in the U.S. widely participated
many iterations of pilot projects and were integral partner
in the maturing of e-books. In the 2010s, many libraries
started shifting their collection policies to include e-book
and increasingly to make e-book the preferred format for
book acquisitions [4]. Despite the rapid growth, e-books
remain a controversial topic in the U.S. for libraries and
publishers on the content, format, rights, implementation,
acquisitions, access, et al.
What makes e-books appealing to the library collections
and what may be the factors holding some libraries back
on acquiring more? How do the readers rate the e-books
in terms of usability vs. print books? It is essential to first
understand the unique distinctions between e-book and
print books. All the discussion points made in this article are
based on experience from the University of Central Florida
Libraries, serving the 2nd largest college student population
in the U.S.
III. Distinctions Between E-book and Print Book
E-books distinguish themselves from the traditional
print books in three main areas: platform or user-interface,
acquisition models, and licensing terms.
 2018 5th International Symposium on Emerging Trends and Technologies in Libraries and Information Services
A. Licensing Terms
Licensing term may be the most distinct characteristics
setting e-books apart from print books. For print books,
copyright may be the only major overarching term defined.
In the e-book world, licensing terms must be agreed upon
between the seller and buyer prior to the sales transaction.
The terms typically define whether the library owns the
e-book content in perpetuity or in a defined time period, if
and how the content is preserved long-term. They spell out
critical items, e.g. what counts for an “authorized” usage, how
many readers can access the same book simultaneously, how
much of the content can be printed and downloaded, whether
the e-book can be shared with other libraries’, whether the
content can be accessed offline, and if so how long the offline
content can be accessible. These are all part of digital rights
management (DRM) issues. DRM protects the interests of
the content providers by posing restrictions for the users. All
things being equal, libraries overwhelmingly prefer DRM-
free content. The publisher and providers are acutely aware
of this need and are working towards providing more DRM-
free e-books, although the cost may increase accordingly.
B. Platform
Platforms are where an e-book “lives”. It governs where
and what interface a book is available. For print physical
books, paperback, hardback or large print may be all the
choices. For e-books, the platform may include on the
Internet or pre-loaded on a device. Device-dependent e-books
are uncommon in the academic libraries. For those on the
Internet, the types for platforms may be an aggregator’s
website, a publisher’s website or a partner’s website [6]. The
same book may be available on all types.
1) An aggregator’s [3] platform would offer books
from multiple publishers on the same interface. The pioneer
in e-book aggregator was NetLibrary, which formed in 1998
and acquired by EBSCO in 2010. Currently ProQuest and
EBSCO lead the academic libraries market in the U.S. They
typically negotiate separately with each publisher and could
offer variable pricing upon the specific terms. Therefore the
terms of books may differ by publisher, and more than one
terms and prices may be offered on the same book or by the
same publisher on aggregators platforms.
Aggregator platforms are pioneers on platforms and
dominated the market in the first part of the 2010s. This is
likely because most publishers don’t have the resources or
are not certain if it’s economical to build their own platforms
in the beginning.
2) A publisher’s platform would only host books only
from its own imprints. As e-books became more acceptable
to libraries, the leading publishers in the U.S. market started
to establish their own e-book platforms. The platform may
differ from that hosting journal content by the same publisher;
or the different imprints owned by the same company may
share the same or separate platforms. However, a growing
trend is to merge the various platforms by the same publisher
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to present a unified interface. Taylor & Francis would be a
good example, Its CRC Press content was hosted separately
from Routledge till the beginning of November 2017 when
they merged. Their journal content is still maintained on a
separate platform from their books. Nowadays, more and
more smaller publishers have joined the force and started
offering their own platforms.
Because they own the rights most time, publishers offer
DRM-free contents on their own platforms. On the content
for which they don’t own the rights, publishers many choose
to continue offering them on the aggregator’s platforms.
DRM-free allows users to download chapters or even the full
book. Creating DOI links for easy sharing also makes DRM-
free materials better options for library collections.
3) Partner platform is almost a hybrid between the
aggregator and publisher. These often are run by organization
or university presses instead of commercial presses. JSTOR
and Project Muse, for example, host many university presses
content on their platform. They are trending towards DRM-
free, like the publisher’s platforms.
Most platforms usually bring value-adding tools online
that aid the reading experience. Some common tools are
online highlighters, dictionaries, translators, note-taking, and
citation formats. In the print age, these would all come as
separate gadgets. And e-books are capable of incorporating
these tools all within the same interface with a few clicks of
buttons.
Compared to the publisher platforms, an aggregator
platform surpasses in offering more diverse content on the
same consistent interface. They tend to offer more value-
adding tools embedded in the book reader, such as read-
out, dictionary, and highlighter, which can greatly enhance
reader’s experience. On the other hand, the complicated
pricing, confusing terms and much more restricted DRM on
the aggregator’s platforms, such as limited number of pages
to print and download and number of simultaneous uses, can
be very frustrating for librarians and users. More publishers
have taken the notice, and offered their own platforms while
pulling out their content on the aggregator platforms. Or they
may reduce the appeal on the aggregator platforms by pricing
advantage with DRM-free.
The most extraordinary function from all e-book platform
types is the usage data. How, who, when and how long each
book or chapter is used can be tracked to fine granularity.
Different platforms may collect the data differently, but most
now are COUNTER (Counting Online User NeTworked
Electronic Resources) [5] compliant. With standardization,
COUNTER stats allow for cross-platform comparisons.
Some platforms such as ProQuest e-book would even capture
very granular usage, for example when the book was used
and how long the book was used for at each session and who
are using the books. The information greatly helps libraries
making data-driven decisions on acquisitions, discovery
interface, outreach, and marketing to users.
 2018 5th International Symposium on Emerging Trends and Technologies in Libraries and Information Services
C. Acquisition Models
With the new concept of licensing terms and the myriads
of platforms, business operations of library e-books, i.e.
what, whom, how and where they are acquired, are no longer
as straightforward as the print counterparts. A same e-book
content may be available on several platforms or interfaces,
all at different prices, different DRMs, and may be acquired
via several acquisitions models from different vendors. Here
are the most common acquisitions models for e-books.
1) Traditional purchase models that have been commonly
used for print books. In these models, books will be
owned in perpetuity by the purchasing libraries.
ŸŸFirm order: individual titles are selected and
ordered. Price to pay is clearly marked, rarely
with any discount. The advantage is the deliberate
thoughts, by librarians or faculty, going into the
selection and ownership for the title. On the other
hand, it can be labor-intensive and still often
uncertain about the demand.
ŸŸApproval: a batch of titles are purchased meeting
the criteria of a preset profile. Few discounts are
offered on E-Approvals. It is one of the most
efficient ways to build and update collections.
However, it is susceptible to inadvertently add
unwanted titles, and therefore can be costly.
2) Models that existed but uncommon for print books
ŸŸPackage purchase: one-time cost paid for
purchase and own e-books bundles defined by
subjects, imprints, publication years, etc. The
price is usually deeply discounted from the cost
of each book individually. And there are ususally
few or none DRM restrictions. This is the most
economical way to purchase and own e-books with
likely the lowest cost per title. Beside potential
high financial outlays, this model doesn’t remove
the uncertainty for user demand, either.
ŸŸSubscription: an annual or monthly fee is negotiated
to pay to access to a large amount of titles, often
defined by subjects, publishing year, etc. with few
or no DRM restrictions. The primary difference
from the package purchase model is that the
content is NOT owned by the library, like a print
lease program. As soon as the annual or monthly
fee stops, so is the access. For libraries that foresee
short-term uses or ownership is less important, the
subscription model is pragmatic by leveraging the
limited funds for an extensive content.
3) Revolutionary new acquisition models emerged with
the advent of e-books, most notably the demand based
acquisitions.
ŸŸPDA (Patron-Driven-Acquisitions). Libraries
select a platform and establish a profile or criteria.
All books on the platform meeting the profile
would be “turned on” on a schedule, e.g. weekly.
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Authorized users can discover and browse the
content free for a preset amount of time or activities
before any costs are incurred to the libraries. These
preset times, typically 5 or 10 online read time,
and activities, download or print, are “triggers”
that determine the point of acquisitions, upon
which costs would incur. The libraries pay nothing
prior to the triggers are activated.
ŸŸPDA with STL (Short Term Loans). A variation of
PDA, this model sets first one to three triggers as
“loans”, paid at a percentage of the full book price
negotiated between the providers and publishers.
The libraries can agree to have one, two or three
loans, before a full purchase is triggered. The
advantage of having STL is the initial lower
expenditures on low demand e-books. Be aware
that libraries don’t own all the content paid. The
loans can still amount substantially; and owning
a title costs much higher than a straight purchase
without the STLs.
PDA models, with or without STL, have the
distinct advantage of “free browsing”, which has
proven substantial. They are also sensible for
broader use that are NOT in-depth. Conversely,
the model makes it hard to predict the expenditures
for libraries and revenues for providers. In a long
term, these triggers stack up and can easily run over
budget for libraries. And stopping the PDA plans
can hurt user service and libraries’ reputations.
ŸŸEBA (Evidence Based Acquisitions). Libraries
negotiate with the provider, either a publisher
or an aggregator on a parameter by subjects
or publication years. The parameter can be set
statically or periodically updated. All titles under
the parameter would be accessible for an agreed
period, typically for 12 months to the authorized
users. An upfront fee is negotiated and paid
upon the beginning of the access period, and will
be used toward the purchase of selected titles.
Publisher platforms are more common in this
model and titles usually come DRM-free. At the
end of the 12-month access period libraries make
the selection based on the usage. If the costs of
used or desired titles exceed the upfront access
fee, libraries will have to pay extra to keep them.
The unselected titles are either withdrawn from the
catalog or discovery interfaces; or another access
fee is assessed to continue the plan for another
12-month period.
EBA brings more predictability and stability to the
libraries and providers for projecting their expenditures or
revenues. The DRM-free content allows full book or chapters
easily embedded into online courseware for unlimited
classroom use and other remote access. It plays in favor of
the providers because of the financial assurance. The libraries
may run the risk of paying a higher upfront fee than the value
 2018 5th International Symposium on Emerging Trends and Technologies in Libraries and Information Services
of used titles. Also for libraries, both in the beginning and end
of a plan, there is more maintenance to load and remove the
bibliographic records.
Regardless the specific model, users can discover and
read many books online in full-text; and subsequently drive
the acquisitions decisions for the libraries all seamlessly
and without access interruption. Libraries no longer need to
speculate on what users would want and can spend on what
are used. Such models are possible due to the usage data
harvested from the platforms. The models present a great
solution for libraries facing with dwindling budget and space.
Even though e-books are typically more expensive than print
books, buying fewer titles based on proven demand than
more titles based on speculation could save libraries money
or realize higher ROI (Return on Investment). An earlier
study presented at the Annual ER&L Conference in 2014
compared the acquisition models of Firm Order, Package
Order and PDA with STL. The conclusion for the study was
in near-term PDA yields the highest ROI [9]. Many academic
libraries started adopting a version of demand drive model
in the current decade. The advantages are very pronounced.
Libraries collections can serve the users just in time, rather
than the just in case. These e-books can be available to users
when and where they need them.
IV. Discussion
In the last decade, distance education, physical space
and user preference have driven the growth of e-books [4].
E-books have transformed library collections for the U.S.
colleges and universities. With the explosive developments
in the Internet and mobile technologies, users want to
access the books from anywhere without stepping into the
physical space of the libraries. E-books are integrated more
seamlessly in discovery and access along with journal and
other content in research, allowing for greater level of
sharing and community learning. The integration of online
learning software and tools, such as citation, dictionaries and
readouts, enhances user experience as readers and authors, as
well as serving a more diverse population. The true DRM-
free e-books can be adopted as required reading or textbook-
alternatives, and therefore save college students money and
potentially improve their academic achievements.
For libraries, the readily available usage statistics can
empower librarians make more informed data-driven
decisions for acquisitions, marketing services and instruction.
Academic libraries in the U.S. have also grown out of
physical space. The online learning environment calls for
more collaborative style. E-books saves the storage space
needed by the print books, therefore can free up room and
create more learning commons for the users.
On another hand, e-book have brought tremendous new
challenges. E-books, in general, cost more than print books
for the libraries and for the users as they are required to equip
with more than their eyes to use the books. Not all platforms
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or user-interfaces are created equally. Usability varies widely
from platform to platform, ranging from very intuitive to
almost counter-intuitive. Features such as download for
offline reading sound great in concept, but could be extremely
cumbersome in practice. The terms or DRMs are often frankly
confusing to everyone, including the providers themselves
sometimes. Many DRM restrictions make certain books hard
to access, such as the 1-use e-books that only allow for one
reader at a time without explicit way to terminate the inactive
use; as a result, no one else could access the book in that
period. Currently not all books are available in electronic
format, which could hinder a systematic collection building
in certain discipline.
For the library profession, e-books, along with other
electronic resources, have touched every aspect of
library functions and services, ranging from acquisitions,
cataloging, collection management, instruction reference,
to access services. The growing number of e-books created
tremendous pressure to the workflow, requiring libraries
to invest more time and training to managing the content,
providing the access and assessing the usage, none of which
were heavily demanded as part of the essential skillsets from
library employees in the print age. Ultimately e-books shift
the workflow from a linear process involving many stops to
a more circular process that feeds back to each other with
fewer middleman.
Selection
Order and
Cataloging
User
User
Circulation
receiving services
Traditional linear process for print books
Selection &
Acquisitions
User
Access
Management
New circular process for e-books
Fig. 1. E-book Acquisitions.
The shift in workflow can be also reflected in the
recruitment of talent for libraries. Technology skills are highly
desired, as expected. And people skills and communication
from the technical services functions, typically including
acquisitions, cataloging and resource management, have
risen higher on the requirement list, because of more direct
contact with users [7].
Perhaps one interesting side impact from e-books and
e-resources is the changing dynamics between publisher or
vendor and libraries. When the print book dominated the
market, each side seemed to take a clearer buyer vs. seller stand.
E-books and e-publishing have brought the two parties closer
 2018 5th International Symposium on Emerging Trends and Technologies in Libraries and Information Services
than ever, just as how e-books and their related technologies
and services developed. It is fair to attribute to e-books that
they pulled both sides to work more collaboratively in order
to bring the best product and services to the library users.
This movement has been particularly evident in the U.S.,
where annual conferences such as Charleston Conference,
ER&L (Electronic Resources & Libraries) Conference are
gaining momentum and popularities.
V. Conclusion
E-books will continue to grow and even dominate the
monograph collections for most academic libraries in the
U.S. Meanwhile, don’t expect the demise of print. Books that
require frequent references or a comprehensive review, e.g.
textbooks, are still much preferred in print format [8], even
for STEM (Science, Technology and Medicine) users. Users
tend to prefer e-books when they need to quickly search
and retrieve information. Libraries should choose the best
suitable format for the local needs as their collections.
The long-term preservation and access of e-books have
yet to be proven by time. Libraries will continue serve as the
catalyst and work with publishers and vendors to improve
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format, content, DRM and acquisitions models for e-books,
to meet the immediate and future needs from their users.
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[8] Y. Zhang, “Firm, PDA and Package: a comparison on ROI,” in ER&L,
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