New Research Article: “Cost Differentials between E-Books and Print in Academic Libraries” (Preprint)

The following research article (preprint) was made available today on the College and Research Libraries web site. It was accepted for publication on October 14, 2013 and is scheduled for publication in the January 2015 issue of C&RL.

Title

Cost Differentials between E-Books and Print in Academic Libraries

Authors

Timothy P. Bailey, Systems Librarian
Auburn University at Montgomery 
Amanda L. Scott, Cataloging Librarian
Auburn University at Montgomery
Rickey D. Best, Collection Development Librarian
Auburn University at Montgomery 

Source

College and Research Libraries (C&RL)

Abstract

Academic libraries continue to face funding pressures compounded by the need to provide students with access to electronic resources, both in journal and book formats. With space constraints and the need to repurpose library space to other purposes, libraries must carefully examine the move to e-only formats for books to determine if the format makes reasonable economic sense.

A survey conducted at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) has confirmed for academic libraries the work of Gray and Copeland on e-books being more expensive than print for public libraries. For AUM, the mean cost for e-books are significantly higher than for the print counterpart of those titles. The cost differentials between the two formats show e-books as being consistently higher than print in initial price. This consistency holds true across all LC classifications, regardless of whether or not the title is published by a university press or a commercial press.

Direct to Full Text (24 pages; PDF)

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries