Query re ebooks selection and strategy

[Terence K. Huwe]

Friends:

I'm beginning work on a review of how ebooks are being implemented in
libraries.  Berkeley's doing it, other universities are doing it, and so
are corporate firms.  There are big implications for library web services
in this trend, so I thought I'd ask the experts--web4lib subscribers!

I have a very short survey below, but it's not limited product review.  I'd
like to find out as much as I can about the "thinking process" any of you
have used to decide _whether or not_ to implement ebooks, plus, any info on
the responses you may have gathered to date, and/or opinions of the
products.  

I would also like to talk by phone with some special and academic
librarians who have been using netLibrary or the ebooks products.  I think
our experiences with this new platform would make for a great article on
evolving Web services in libraries.

I will post a summary to this list on November 20.  Thanks in advance to
all--I have to say, the commentary on ebooks on web4lib has consistently
been ahead of new developments, so I've appreciated reading the many
threads in the past months.  

Since I've pledged to summarize this thread, I suggest that you reply to me
in order to spare everyone the email traffic.

Sincerely, Terry Huwe, IIR/UC Berkeley
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I. ebooks awareness

1. What ebooks product/services are you aware of or evaluating?
2. What ebooks products/services have you made the decision to purchase?
3. What products/services were adopted but now are being non-renewed?
4. What factors influenced the decision to select?


II.  Please rate the following characteristics of any product you've acquired:

1. Content
  
2. User Interface

3. User Support

III.  What appears to drive the decision to keep these products in place:

1. Overall Quality
2. Impact to the enterprise
3. Impact on your perspective
4. Overall value

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Terence K. Huwe
Director of Library and information Resources
Institute of Industrial Relations Library
University of California, Berkeley
Voice:  (510) 642-1705
Fax:  (510) 642-6432
http://iir.socrates.berkeley.edu
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