2014 Reports

E-Book Program Development Study: Quarterly Report December 1, 2013 – February 28, 2014

Goertzen, Melissa J.

The central objective of the third quarter was to collect data sets that will inform e-book collection development policies relating to preferred business models and resource allocation. Much of this work centered on a large-scale cost analysis project. Using the research framework established during the second quarter of the study, quantitative data was collected to document how funds are allocated, examine usage rates, and develop a methodology for future evaluation. At the same time, a new and innovative methodology was developed to gather information about e-book use across disciplines. The method relies on a qualitative analysis of e-book search terms harvested by Google Analytics and e-book titles from COUNTER e-book usage reports.