The case of the disappearing E-Book: Academic libraries and subscription packages

Abstract

One of the standard models for e-book licensing in academic libraries is the subscription package. This study is a one-year analysis of "disappeared" titles from ebrary's Academic Complete" collection. During 2013, 3462 titles were deleted. Deleted titles were mainly recent publications (published within the last ten years), with a high number of deletions within the broad subject areas of the social sciences (H), language and literature (P), and history (C, D, E, F). Deleted titles were evenly divided between monographs published by popular presses, and monographs published by scholarly or university presses. It is recommended that deleted titles be closely monitored by subject librarians. Efficient library processes for handling deleted titles must also be implemented. Implications for libraries of changing e-book content are also discussed.