Analyzing E-book Collections in the Digital Age

Over the past decade, a growing interest in electronic content has resulted in a greater emphasis on e-book collection development, which has required evaluations of new business models, license agreements, and collection assessment methods. The Concept behind This Issue of Library Technology Reports In the summer of 2016, I was presented with an opportunity to write an issue of Library Technology Reports that discussed quantitative methods related to the analysis and evaluation of e-book collections. The initial concept was structured as a response to the article "The Evolving DDA Project at the Orbis Cascade Alliance" by Kathleen Carlisle Fountain.1 Although the article focused on the results of a pilot consortial DDA project, a discussion surrounding the gaps in standardized approaches to e-book collection analysis and general training opportunities spoke to many of the challenges that I encounter on a regular basis. Introduction to the E-book Program Development Study Between the years 2013 and 2015, I conducted the E-book Program Development Study at CUL, a twoyear assessment project aimed at gathering essential data to drive best practices related to e-book collection development strategies.4 The primary objective was to document the e-book landscape at Columbia University and understand how local challenges fit into the larger context of collection development and management within the academic community. Because the study was based on local and external data that is readily available to the professional community, I believe that the methods described in the following chapters can be adopted and adapted by other libraries, regardless...