Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #eBookSOS
Most recents (8)
@ScholTom explains WP3 #OpeningtheFuture
Pilot case to show that publishers can transition their business to new #OpenAccess models that do not rely on BPCs but on community funding.
Developing online open toolkits for starting & running open access presses #ScalingSmall #OABooks
Pilot case to show that publishers can transition their business to new #OpenAccess models that do not rely on BPCs but on community funding.
Developing online open toolkits for starting & running open access presses #ScalingSmall #OABooks
@CEUPress and @LivUniPress made #OpeningtheFuture a reality! And libraries of all sizes have joined the membership scheme, enabling library funds to go further: achieving the dual objectives of increasing collections and supporting #OpenAccess.
#ScalingSmall #OABooks
#ScalingSmall #OABooks
Library members pay a small annual fee to get DRM-free, unlimited access to a publisher’s backlist; membership revenue is used to produce new frontlist monographs which are #OpenAccess to anyone in the world!
#OpeningtheFuture #ScalingSmall #OABooks
#OpeningtheFuture #ScalingSmall #OABooks
Excellent article on the Wiley #ebook scandal. #ebookSOS 🧵👇
It concludes that Wiley targeted the most widely used textbooks, removed them from sale to libraries, in order to give access only through platforms that target students directly. 1/
library.gwu.edu/Wiley-ebook-re…
It concludes that Wiley targeted the most widely used textbooks, removed them from sale to libraries, in order to give access only through platforms that target students directly. 1/
library.gwu.edu/Wiley-ebook-re…
This puts the financial burden on students who must decide whether to buy the eBook or not. The university is denied the opportunity to support students and means it cannot provide an equitable learning environment for all.2/
By licensing and using DRMs, publishers as we see here can chop and change provision literally overnight as directed by their sales team. Technology and licensing allows microtargetting of any market segmentation, for any period, and any place. 3/
'Won't' is a very curious word to use, that implies we could but we're choosing not to.
How about 'half of UK librarians are being prevented from meeting their users' needs due to exploitation, profiteering, a dysfunctional market & inadequate library budgets'? #ebookSOS
How about 'half of UK librarians are being prevented from meeting their users' needs due to exploitation, profiteering, a dysfunctional market & inadequate library budgets'? #ebookSOS
Not to mention companies like K*rt*xt, who deliver a model that is only viable/profitable precisely because the market is so broken & dysfunctional, encouraging adoption of a per FTE individual textbook model that narrows choice and patterns a secondary school style of teaching.
If ebooks were available on reasonable terms with fair prices & permissive licences, we wouldn't need K*rt*xt, would we? So they write these articles & sponsor this research, yet their existence relies on the continuation of this messed up, exploitative, utterly broken market.
As it’s the end of term we want to reflect on the past year and the successes we've had in providing resources.
One challenge though has been the price hikes that took place for eBooks in comparison to print. Sussex academics working on reading lists this one's for you. 📣📣📣
One challenge though has been the price hikes that took place for eBooks in comparison to print. Sussex academics working on reading lists this one's for you. 📣📣📣
First of all we’d like to thank @Hohojanna, @heroicendeavour & @rachelsbickley for starting the conversation, and @UoYLibrary, @HullUni_Library & @BirkbeckLibrary for their superb threads about the eBook market and why it’s so hard for libraries to get you the resources you need.
This issue impacts accessibility, the quality of access for teaching and research, low-income users who rely on libraries, and Sussex authors. There is an opportunity for decolonising work but it’s incumbent on publishers to work with us to provide eBooks in a sustainable way.
Attention students! And all members of our University community. Ever wondered why we don’t always have the books you need available to read online? This thread is our attempt at explaining…
We are grateful to @UoYLibrary whose original Twitter thread did some excellent work explaining this complex area, which we will draw on heavily for our own.
So, ebooks! We know it is frustrating when the book you need is not available online. Print books are wonderful (love that book smell!) but what if someone else already has the copy you need? Or you can’t travel into the library to get it (for pandemic or other reasons)?
Why can’t we always buy what you need? How much do eBooks cost? How do we work with you? Sit tight – we’re going to answer a lot of questions and share some shocking figures about how much resources cost!
We talk to Faculties and @HullUniUnion a lot. We find their input massively helpful, and we also talk to students and academics as part of our commitment to deliver excellent customer service.
We talk to our users often (especially with big projects like redesigning our Library Search); you may even be one of the people we've spoken to. If so, cheers!
ANYWAY >>
ANYWAY >>
As well as running surveys, we also try and speak directly to students on a regular basis to help us understand what you want and what you need.
It's very buzzwordy to say 'the student voice is at the heart of our decision making' and stuff like that but it really is true.
It's very buzzwordy to say 'the student voice is at the heart of our decision making' and stuff like that but it really is true.
We talk to @GSAYork and @yorkunisu a lot and find their input massively helpful, and we also talk to UGs, PGTs, PGRs, academics and members of the public as part of the User Experience driven approach we have to projects.
We prefer one-on-one conversations to focus groups.
We prefer one-on-one conversations to focus groups.
We do this a fair amount (especially with big projects like redesigning YorSearch - there were three rounds of user-consultation as part of that, and they completely changed our outlook and decisions); you may even be one of the people we've spoken to. If so, cheers!
ANYWAY >>
ANYWAY >>
It'd be nice to have access to all the books and all the journal articles without having to think about it. But no-one can read everything... 1/
Publishers: if you price your products too high, expect academics and academic libraries not to assign them. We'll find something else for our students to work with. 2/
For 'must have' literature for student research and our own, there's always interlibrary loans. Not to mention other workarounds. 3/
