Mobile Library

E-book Advocacy Statements

« Advocacy Model DUKE E-BOOK ADVOCACY STATEMENT PDF

E-books should:

be easily identified in the library catalog or in the search interface preferred by the researcher, with records linking effortlessly to the Duke copy
allow previews of significant portions of content on campus without triggering a “check out”
add efficiencies by including hyperlinks between content within the text (footnotes, end notes, bibliography) and hyperlinks to resources outside the text (author’s biography, bibliography, reviews , etc.), while being transparent about scope and criteria for hyperlinking
allow access to and use of metadata and full-text as data to be processed by software via an API, to enable text-mining, analytics, "culturomics," and other kinds of "non-consumptive" research across large bodies of e-texts
include help pages and a link to contact the Duke University Libraries

accommodate personal preferences in research, teaching, and learning by allowing reading of a desired e-book title on the device preferred by the researcher
allow annotating, highlighting, and bookmarking of the text and the downloading or saving of reader annotations in an open format to allow sharing of comments and notes
aid in the sequential reading of a logical argument by providing orientation to the layout of the e-book
provide intuitive navigation to facilitate browsing within an e-book
allow for easy printing of substantial portions of the e-book, including a reasonably priced POD (Print on Demand) copy
anticipate and provide source-specific and discipline-specific formats; for example, historical sources will be reproduced as an exact copy to simulate interactions with the original object
be downloadable for reading off-line (portable format)

support the researcher’s need to compare arguments from multiple sources at the same time by allowing simultaneous use of several e-books by one user
support the researcher’s need to model a topic across a number of texts or textual corpora

allow copying / pasting of passages into other documents with a durable URL to the original source
provide sophisticated searching to locate known items or related concepts enabling the synthesis of theory and evidence base
allow preserving the “personal copy” by facilitating export of all annotations, highlights (excerpts), and bookmarks with durable URL to the original source

create no barriers to sharing documentation by overly restrictive license terms and DRM (Digital Rights Management) software
support communication and knowledge transfer between members of international collaborative research teams
support dissemination of preliminary research outcomes to the scholarly community
support sharing of materials with students during teaching

be available to readers at the same time that equivalent print publications, if produced, are made available
be available for ingest in Institutional Repositories as authors’ copyrights permit

The Duke University Libraries are committed to the following activities as e-book advocates within a research support framework.

The Libraries:

respect the act of reading an e-book as a private act and give the researcher a sense of control over the library copy of the e-book “in hand” on the researcher’s device
will be transparent about collection of user data and allow researchers to opt out of all tracking
will incorporate results from e-learning research to provide for needs of a diverse user audience (text books – research showing that undergrads prefer print text books to e – format and functionality influence the learning experience)
will provide functionalities of the “library e-book copy” that will be comparable to functionalities of the “personal e-book copy”
seek to acquire and license e-books so that they can be loaned (document delivery) between libraries like print books

actively work to understand our researchers’ use of e-books and the influence of this format on learning and research
will continue to learn about publishing models and the impact these models have on scholarship
look for both immediate and long term e-book access solutions, inclusive of preservation strategies
engage in national and international partnerships to ensure that there is access to both retrospective and current e-books
partner with publishers, vendors, consortia, and others to ensure the functionalities described above are realized and that they will evolve continually to support our vision