ebook Call Numbers

[Kevil, L H.]

IMO the principal reason to add call numbers to ebooks is to be able to determine use by subject, just as we do for print books (pbooks.) If ebooks did not have call numbers, we would not be able to compare their use with the usage data for pbooks. Without those data, we would not know whether our expenditures in particular subjects were optimal or even the areas where we need more or fewer ebooks. Usage data for ebooks are available from the vendors, but the subject categories are typically broad and in any event do not have the precision of an LC call number.

Our approval profile is organized by call number or LC classification. As we start to receive ebooks via approval, the absence of call numbers would introduce an element of complexity in our evaluation of approval expenditures.

Perhaps the best way to make the point is this: If you consider a book a book, regardless of its format, then there should be a common way to know the subjects of all our books. And since we are not going to reclassify our stock of books, ebooks need to have the same call numbers as pbooks.


L. Hunter Kevil, Ph.D.
Collection Development Librarian
University of Missouri Libraries

kevill at missouri.edu



From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Teresa Ashley
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:29 AM
To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [WEB4LIB] ebook Call Numbers

Our library used to add call numbers to NetLibrary (now ebooks on EBSCOhost) ebooks:  http://alicat.austincc.edu/record=b1147057~S1
http://alicat.austincc.edu/record=b1189096~S1

I think the advantage in having them display in the catalog was to use the call number to browse the print collection if the library user did not want to read an ebook (a problem we encountered 5 or so years ago and still do occasionally).  The original keyword search would have brought them to the subject call number, more or less.

I couldn't find any ebook entries with catalog numbers displayed that were published after 2007.


Teresa Ashley

On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 10:07 AM, Harris, Jennifer <jharris at mercyhurst.edu<mailto:jharris at mercyhurst.edu>> wrote:
Does anyone out there use call numbers for ebooks? If you do, do you have them appear on results lists? Why do you do this? Any comments would be welcome...

Thanks,

Jennifer Harris
Systems and Teaching Librarian
Mercyhurst College
Hammermill Library
501 E. 38th Street
Erie, PA 16546
814-824-3305<tel:814-824-3305>

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::-:: Teresa Ashley  ::-::  libr12 (at) gmail (dot) com


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