Business Models
The current estimate of revenue generated from publishers selling textbooks direct to students in the UK is £200 million. Publishers are therefore extremely cautious about making e-textbooks available, free at the point of use, through the university library, in case it cannibalises print sales. During the course of the project, the impact on the sales of the print equivalents of the 36 e- books licensed and made freely available to all UK higher education intuitions has been monitored. The data we have suggests that the availability of the e-versions has no impact on the print sales and that, certainly at the moment, e-textbooks are a back up to the print and will co-exist. JISC Collections is encouraging publishers to think of e-textbooks not as a threat, but as a new and different market.
Study on the management and economic impact of e-textbook business models on publishers, e-book aggregators and universities
In order to develop business models that take account of the current co-existence of print and electronic and the findings from the e-books observatory project, JISC Collections is undertaking a new study. The new study will in Phase One:
- review the current business models available for e-textbooks in the UK
- suggest a selection of business models for trial following consultation with publishers, aggregators and libraries
In Phase Two the study will:
- implement live trials of the business models
- analyse the economics of the business models in terms of impact on publisher print sales / revenue and library budgets
- assess the management of the business models in terms of administrative burden and ease of implementation
- make recommendations about business models for e-textbooks and course texts e-books following the trial that are sustainable both in terms of profitability and value for money
The aim is to create realistic, simple and sustainable business models using real data for a range of access models. Universities and libraries will then be able to choose the models that best suit their requirements.
The first phase of the study has already been completed and a report is available. Phase Two is currently underway.