THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOOK

Scott Brown, Social Information Group

Springer eBooks Summit for Corporate and Government Libraries

09 February 2010

Creating eBook success in the organisation

ABOUT ME

Background

Managing digital content, information specialist, trainer at Sun Microsystems

TODAY'S AGENDA

eBooks

Quick overview of eBook trends

Adoption at Sun: Why eBooks?

How do they fit into today’s social information environment?

Driving user adoption

ROI

THE FUTURE?

“A-HA” MOMENT #1

NOT EITHER/OR...

AND/PLUS

AND...AMAZON KINDLE

AND...APPLE IPAD

AND...EBOOK SALES TRENDS

US Trade Wholesale Electronic Book Sales, 2002 – Q3 2009

Source: International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF)

WHERE ARE WE ON THE

ADOPTION CURVE?

WHERE ARE WE ON THE

ADOPTION CURVE?

“A-HA” MOMENT #2

“A-HA” MOMENT #2

CONTENT

+

FUNCTIONALITY

FOR EVERYONE

EBOOKS AT SUN – WHY SO MANY?

SpringerLink

One of the best sources for computer science and physical science content – and engineers were asking for it

eBooks and selected journals integrated

Unlimited downloadable PDF chapters

Safari

Only source for eBooks from SMI Press, Java Press, O'Reilly

Books 24x7

Broad access to business and management titles

NetLibrary

Ability to purchase titles one-off

WHY EBOOKS? OUR REAL-LIFE

REASONS

Anytime, anywhere access to content that lives in a book –perfect for distributed sites

Supplement, not replace, print materials

Eliminate duplicate purchases

Search across multiple books – even entire collections

Answer questions in minutes without having to physically go through a collection of books

Print or copy only those pages that are of interest to you

Preview a book in electronic form before you decide if you want to purchase the book

Bottom line: Save TIME and MONEY, access to CRITICAL CONTENT when and where needed

Now, let’s look at how eBooks and social networks are related to and compliment each other…

POLL: SOCIAL TOOL USAGE

Who uses Twitter for business/organizational purposes?

Who uses Facebook for business/organizational purposes?

What other tools do you use for business/organizational purposes?

Blogs

Wikis

LinkedIn

Video/audio (YouTube, podcasts, etc.)

WHAT DO EBOOKS

AND SOCIAL TOOLS

HAVE IN COMMON?

“A-HA” MOMENT #3

Connecting Sharing Participating

WHAT DO EBOOKS AND SOCIAL

TOOLS HAVE IN COMMON?

Connecting Sharing Participating

WHAT DO EBOOKS AND SOCIAL

TOOLS HAVE IN COMMON?

Serendipity

Connecting Sharing Participating

WHAT DO EBOOKS AND SOCIAL

TOOLS HAVE IN COMMON?

Serendipity

Connecting Sharing Participating

WHAT DO EBOOKS AND SOCIAL

TOOLS HAVE IN COMMON?

Serendipity

eBooks

POLL: EBOOK USAGE AND ADOPTION

Do you currently deploy eBooks within your organization?

For those who are deploying eBooks, how would you characterize your users?

Relatively unaware of eBooks

Using eBooks, but not a lot

Using eBooks regularly according to stats, but not giving a lot of feedback

Very engaged, using them heavily, requesting more

EBRARY/NORTHEASTERN STATE

UNIVERSITY EBOOK SURVEY, 2007

Top problems inhibiting e-book usage

1.Lack of awareness

EBRARY/NORTHEASTERN STATE

UNIVERSITY EBOOK SURVEY, 2007

Many students…

EBRARY/NORTHEASTERN STATE

UNIVERSITY EBOOK SURVEY, 2007

Many students…

…“don't know e-books exist,” Mickiel said.

Publishers Weekly, 2007

EBRARY/NORTHEASTERN STATE

UNIVERSITY EBOOK SURVEY, 2007

Top drivers of e-book usage

1. MARC records and OPAC

integration

2. Professor and staff

recommendations

3. Position on library Web site

HOW DOES SUN DRIVE EBOOK

AWARENESS, USAGE AND ROI?

Content + functionality

Pilot

Complimentary services and content

Market the heck out of it

Train on its usage and advantages

Integrate the heck out of it

KEEP marketing the heck out of it

ROI

VALUE - ANECDOTAL

(eBooks are) my favorite employee perk after health & dental. I am able to learn about new approaches to technology and to my functional area quickly and easily, and I can have a lot more confidence in the information that I would have in the results of a Google search.

Although Google has become an indispensable reference tool, it is not able to replace authoritative texts on technical subjects. (eBooks have) saved me a great deal of time by allowing me to find the best book for the task at hand.

ROI – VALUE OF TIME SAVED

44% of users

40% of users

16% of users

ROI – COST AVOIDANCE

Average Sun tech employee purchases 5 books a year

In one eBook service, 6300 unique titles viewed over a year

ROI – COST AVOIDANCE

Average Sun tech employee spends $250/year on books

$250 x approx. 6000 employees = $1,500,000

Divide by cost of contract

More usage = more ROI

THE FUTURE

“There is little doubt that by 2012 educational and professional content will be delivered to classrooms and training facilities in a mix of print and digital components.”

- Jim Milliot, director of business and news for Publishers Weekly

THE FUTURE?

THE FUTURE

THANK YOU!

Scott Brown, Social Information Groupscott@socialinformationgroup.comhttp://www.socialinformationgroup.comSpringer eBooks Summit for Corporate and Government Libraries, 09 February 2010

REFERENCES

Industry Statistics: International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF)http://www.idpf.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm

Information Gathering in the Content Age: The Hidden Cost of the Hunt (Ridge Group/Solis Consulting): http://www.safaribooksonline.com/company/content/pdf/pr01-20-03b.pdf

Forrester and WattPad on eBook Trends (Kindle Review): http://ireaderreview.com/2009/06/03/forrester-and-wattpad-on-ebook-trends/

Move Over, Kindle: eBooks Hit Cell Phones (BusinessWeek):http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081229_937226.htm

E-Books in Higher Education: Nearing the End of the Era of Hype? (Educause): http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume43/EBooksinHigherEducationNearing/162677

E-Books Need Visibility (Publishers Weekly): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6460298.html

Report: EReader and EBook Market Ready for Growth (ReadWriteWeb): http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_ereader_and_ebook_market_ready_for_growth.php

REFERENCES

UC Libraries Springer eBooks Pilot: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/springerebooks/

eBooks: The end-user perpective (Springer white paper): http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/eBooks+-+the+End+User+Experience?SGWID=0-0-45-608298-0

eBooks: Costs and benefits to academic and research libraries (Springer white paper): http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/eBook+White+Paper.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-415198-0

10 eReader and eBook predictions for 2010 (Forrester blog): http://blogs.forrester.com/consumer_product_strategy/2009/12/ten-ereader-and-ebook-predictions-for-2010.html

2010: The only year of the e-reader (Fast Company): http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/technomix/2010-only-year-e-reader

Apple courts publishers, while Kindle adds apps (New York Times): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/technology/21reader.html

Booming e-book sales to drive display demand, iSuppli says (Digitimes):http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080724PR201.html