[Web4lib] NFAIS Webinar on eBooks

[Jill O'Neill]

NFAIS Webinar: e-Books and the Future of University Presses: Key Findings
from a Three-Year Study

 

There is a tremendous drive in the academic library environment to reshape
content and service models to deploy technologies in ways that more
effectively and efficiently serve the user at the point of information need.
One of the hottest topics for libraries in this regard is e-books. This is
also an area of rapid development across the publishing industry - with
activity to standardize file formats, a proliferation of dedicated devices,
and the transformation of purchasing and copyright practices originally
developed for print books.  For libraries, there are associated issues in
terms of both constrained purchasing budgets and the expanding popularity of
patron driven selection.  Recent key library events such as the ARL
Membership meeting, Charleston Conference, and the ALA Midwinter Meeting
highlighted the issues and interest seems to grow daily.   

 

Publishers in a university press environment also face these new challenges.
At a time when print sales are declining, how should e-books be integrated
into production and distribution to demonstrate the ongoing value of a
university press in support of academic research? Rising interest in the
creation of cooperative branded consortia for purposes of distributing
scholarly monographs is evident as several such initiatives that have
emerged. (InsideHigherEd, New Models for University Presses, November 22,
2010, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/22/presses.) The Andrew
Mellon Foundation has funded one such exploratory initiative involving,
among others, NYU Press, Temple University Press, Rutgers University Press,
the University of Nebraska Press, and the University of Pennsylvania Press.
The 60 presses that are joining the University Press eBook Consortium (UPeC)
are focused on satisfying the needs of the scholarly community as they move
forward in selecting a platform and planning their collections. 

 

This webinar will address key findings from the three year effort, including
the following:

 

.           Strategic vision

.           Academic library budget developments

.           Research about library eBook adoption 

.           Patron Driven Selection

.           Current trends

.           New and evolving standards  

.           Academic publishing in trends

.           Exploring technology driven efficiencies in workflow and
production

.           Determining core competencies: what stays in-house

.           Expanding service partner options 

.           Service level agreements

.           New business models 

 

Featured experts are October Ivins, Principal, Ivins eContent Solutions, and
Alex Holzman, Director, Temple University Press.

 

If you want to learn more about the results of this three-year initiative
register for the NFAIS webinar today.  NFAIS members pay $75 and non-members
pay $95.  An unlimited number of staff from an NFAIS member organization can
participate for a group fee of $225. The group fee for an unlimited number
of staff from any non-member organization is $285. The registration form is
can be accessed at:
http://www.nfais.org/page/323-e-books-march-23-2011-webinar 

 

For more information contact:  Jill O'Neill, NFAIS Director, Communication
and Planning, 215-893-1561 (phone); 215-893-1564 (fax);
mailto:jilloneill at nfais.org or go to http://www.nfais.org
<http://www.nfais.org/> .

 

NFAIS: Serving the Global Information Community

 

 

Jill O'Neill

Director, Planning & Communication

NFAIS

(v) 215-893-1561

(email) jilloneill at nfais.org