We’re on a Roll: Transforming E-Book Acquisitions in a Shifting Budget Landscape

In response to the challenging budget landscape in 2015–2016, the University of British Columbia Library took a new approach to e-book acquisitions. The Associate University Librarian, Collections, established a working group with a mandate to develop and implement a strategy for library-wide e-book purchasing. Members of the group were drawn from both campuses and represented public and technical services and a broad spectrum of disciplines. In this presentation, we will briefly review the factors that led to the formation of the working group, then discuss the steps taken in the analysis, selection, and purchase of e-books. The committee’s two-pronged approach—the purchase of large e-book packages and participation in evidence-based acquisitions programs with Cambridge, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and CRC Press—will be explored in depth. We will highlight the benefits of cross-unit collaboration, the vendor and publisher relations, and the effective use of limited funds. We will discuss the many challenges around discovery and access, evaluation and decision-making, and transitioning the program into the current fiscal year. We expect that our presentation will contribute to the broader picture of how large academic libraries can address rising costs, limited budgets, and the variety of publisher e-book offers