32 · Survey Results: Survey Questions And Responses
e-Book Deselection
9. Does your library have a policy on deselecting e-books? N=73
Yes 3 4%
No 70 96%
If yes, which of the criteria below provide the basis for deselection? Check all that apply. N=3
N Individual Titles
N=3
Collections
N=3
Publication date 2 2 1
Usage statistics 2 2 2
Currency of content 3 3 2
Subject focus 2 2 2
No longer collect in this subject 1 1 1
Cost/value return on investment 1 1 1
Other — — —
Please enter any additional comments about deselection of e-books at your library. N=23
Again, de-selection is covered in our collection development policy and is not aimed toward e-books per se.
Again, these criteria are not policy as such, but rather accepted practice.
At the present time, our e-book collections are so young that we have not been deselecting as a general policy.
Many of the historic online book collections are also either all or nothing. We won’t be deselecting individual titles
from those. The most obvious criterion for deselection would be cost — if a particular set of e-books or a particular
reference work were just too expensive to maintain on a subscription basis. The rational for deselecting e-books that
are purchased via one-time funds seems far less clear.
Deselection only seems likely under a subscription model.
For Safari we have the opportunity to look at usage of titles and swap titles in and out.
For some collections, we choose to receive the newest edition (to replace the older edition).
I don’t know why you would deselect a Web-based e-book. Even if it is never used it doesn’t incur storage, heating,
or re-shelving costs like a printed book. If we had groups of e-books that are used at the same rate as printed books,
we would become concerned and wonder what was wrong with them but ,except for specific titles, usage is high
enough that a few years ago we also began acquiring e-books in non-English languages.
e-Book Deselection
9. Does your library have a policy on deselecting e-books? N=73
Yes 3 4%
No 70 96%
If yes, which of the criteria below provide the basis for deselection? Check all that apply. N=3
N Individual Titles
N=3
Collections
N=3
Publication date 2 2 1
Usage statistics 2 2 2
Currency of content 3 3 2
Subject focus 2 2 2
No longer collect in this subject 1 1 1
Cost/value return on investment 1 1 1
Other — — —
Please enter any additional comments about deselection of e-books at your library. N=23
Again, de-selection is covered in our collection development policy and is not aimed toward e-books per se.
Again, these criteria are not policy as such, but rather accepted practice.
At the present time, our e-book collections are so young that we have not been deselecting as a general policy.
Many of the historic online book collections are also either all or nothing. We won’t be deselecting individual titles
from those. The most obvious criterion for deselection would be cost — if a particular set of e-books or a particular
reference work were just too expensive to maintain on a subscription basis. The rational for deselecting e-books that
are purchased via one-time funds seems far less clear.
Deselection only seems likely under a subscription model.
For Safari we have the opportunity to look at usage of titles and swap titles in and out.
For some collections, we choose to receive the newest edition (to replace the older edition).
I don’t know why you would deselect a Web-based e-book. Even if it is never used it doesn’t incur storage, heating,
or re-shelving costs like a printed book. If we had groups of e-books that are used at the same rate as printed books,
we would become concerned and wonder what was wrong with them but ,except for specific titles, usage is high
enough that a few years ago we also began acquiring e-books in non-English languages.
