E-book MARC records: Do they make the mark?

Abstract

The rapidly growing market in e-books and the options for library acquisition of these materials lead to questions regarding access. Because MARC records increase use of e-books, and some vendors provide MARC records along with e-book purchases, many libraries use their library catalogues as a conduit to e-books.This article explores the challenges associated with these records. Consideration is given to the quality of information provided by vendors, user expectations and experiences, and cataloguing workload in today's libraries.The authors seek to educate librarians about the issues associated with e-book MARC records, to empower them with questions to ask of vendors regarding this data, and to encourage them to weigh the costs and benefits associated with using this free information.