E-book Task Force: Charge

How should a large library system like RUL with many undergraduate as well as graduate students and high-level researchers approach the coming tsunami of e-books? What types of books are most suitable to this medium and most useful to our users: books on e-reserves, reference books, scholarly monographs?

Within this overall framework, consider the following:

• Define scope of e-books in terms of size, such as one chapter of printed book, two chapters, complete book; reference books as opposed to a reference database, books within portals such as CIAO, etc.

• Investigate the various commercial digital or e-book services such as NetLibrary and determine which offer the content and services most suitable to our situation.

• Determine a set of criteria to determine which of the many free digital or e-book should be selector for our users.

• Determine the best means of making commercial and free e-books available to our users from cataloging, systems, and public services perspectives. To what extent, if any, should we invest in and make available to our user e-book devices, such as Rocket Book.

• Investigate and make recommendations on appropriate e-book software such as Glass Book.

• Investigate what other ARL libraries has done in this area such as University of Texas system and the mini-consortium comprised of Columbia, Cornell, Yale, and Middleberry College and assess their experience in light of our situation.

This task force reflects an outgrowth of concerns from all sectors of the Libraries organization but is formally attached to the Collection Development Council.

We will devote at least $10,000 towards the purchase of current imprint e-books this year. The work of the task force will help determine how this money will be spent. Please submit your report to Robert Sewell by no later than March 15, 2001 in order to give us enough time to set our e-book project in motion this year.

In the course of your deliberations, please consult whenever appropriate with the systems and cataloging departments.