JISC national e-books observatory project

Study on the management and economic impact of e-textbook business models on publishers, e-book aggregators and universities.
Phase 2: Business Models trials

The data from the JISC national e-books observatory inidcates that there the availability of the free at the point of use course text e-books may not negatively impact on print sales to students. This idea of co-existence is being tested further through robust trials of various business models.

Phase 1 of the study was undertaken between November 2008 and February 2009 by Content Complete Ltd in partnership with OnlyConnect Consultancy and explored the current status of e-textbook provision in the UK higher education sector. Read the phase 1 report

The report on Phase 1 made recommendations that a number of trials should take place in Phase 2 to address and evaluate potential business models for future provision of e-textbooks. Four main trials were proposed and these are briefly outlined below and are also given in an appendix to the Phase 1 report. The trials will involve participation by textbook publishers, HE librarians and e-book aggregators. Over recent months Content Complete Ltd has been meeting with potential participants and to consider the textbooks that will be included in the trials. This part of Phase 2 is now almost complete.

The next stage is to commence access to e-versions of the trial textbooks by students at all participating universities, when terms start later this month. A variety of access arrangements and student options will be offered in the trials, including access to complete textbooks, to chapters, and short term rentals, and students will still be able to purchase print versions. A range of data will be collected during the trials including e-version usage data, loans of print copies and purchases of print copies. This data will be used by all participants to consider the types of business models that could potentially be used for library provision of e-textbooks in the future.

The trials at each university last from September 2009 through to the end of May 2010. Following the evaluation of the findings from the Trials a final report will be produced in August 2010.

Organisations participating in the trials are:

Publishers:
• Cengage Learning
• Cambridge University Press
• McGraw-Hill Education
• Pearson Education
• Oxford University Press
• Palgrave Macmillan
• SAGE
• Wiley-Blackwell

Libraries:
• Cardiff University
• UCL
• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• University of Greenwich
• University of Leicester
• University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
• University of Northampton
• University of St Andrews
• University of Surrey
• University of West of England

Aggregators:
• Dawson
• EBL
• MyiLibrary

The Trials:

Trial 1:
Assessing the sustainability of offering access to e-textbooks via aggregated platforms and/or publisher-specific platforms under a range of access models

Trial 2:
Libraries participating in offering students a range of access options

Trial 3:
What impact does offering e-access via libraries have on print sales of textbooks, and what do students want if they have a choice?

Trial 4:
Does making online access available through libraries improve sell-through of existing adoptions?

^ Top