Howdy from the beautiful Rocky Mountains! The Rocky Mountain chapter of SLA is thrilled to contribute this week’s FutureReady365 posts. We are a small, diverse community of 150+ members spread across a four-state region (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota). We have a medley of posts from public school, government, higher education and independent professionals that we hope will prompt conversations, comments and thoughts on being future ready. Happy reading!

Denver Public Schools’ Educational Technology and Library Services (ETLS) department is responsible for creating collection development policy for the District’s 140+ school libraries. For the past 6 months, deep discussion has taken place about how we want to begin introducing eBooks into our school collections. Like so many other school districts, DPS has only purchased a small number of titles, “drops in the bucket,” as Lisa Guernsey describes it in her School Library Journal article “Are Ebooks any good?” (June 1, 2011). And like the “tidal wave” she predicts is coming, ETLS is preparing for an eventual surge in eBook purchasing. To this end, Janne Cookman, senior library systems analyst for ETLS, drew up the following recommendations for our school librarians for purchasing eBooks. By creating consistency in purchasing decisions, workflow in our cataloging and acquisitions department would experience less disruption.

Following are the recommendations given to our school librarians:

eBook Purchasing Considerations

• Selection: Consider your overall collection development goals. Is this title or package a good fit? Will the electronic format enhance the reader’s experience? Do you expect the eBook version to get better usage (that is, be easier to access and circulate more frequently) than the print version? Does the district already offer something similar through its subscription databases (for example, TumbleBooks, Teen Health and Wellness, etc.)?
• Access: Currently Library Services supports access to eBooks only through MARC records in the LION/Encore catalog. The plus is all setup and configuration work with the vendor is done for you. The minus is LION/Encore always displays the item status as “available online,” even if the copy is being read by someone else at the time.
• Platforms: All eBooks are web-hosted on the vendor’s platform and cannot be moved to a competing vendor’s platform. Consider the management and training issues associated with having multiple platforms. How will you gather your circulation statistics? Do the different platforms have specific system requirements? Are the search, read, etc. features similar, easy to understand and use? Do the vendors provide online FAQs, tutorials and tech support?
• Vendors: Like print books, eBooks may be purchased directly from the publisher or from an aggregator. Aggregators partner with multiple publishers to supply content and provide a uniform platform. The major advantage of an aggregator is having a single interface to host all of your titles, and a single-point-of-management for selection, acquisition, cataloging and circulation.
• Hosting fees: If there are hosting fees, how much are they and are they paid up front, yearly, or built into the titles per copy pricing? For tracking expenditures, keep in mind that hosting fees are invoiced directly to ETLS and deducted from your school’s mill levy funds.
• Purchasing models: The options are lease or own. If the eBook content is leased, you will need to withdraw the records when the lease expires to avoid “dead links” and frustrated readers.
• Online reading: If online reading is through a wireless connection, consider possible bandwidth and network traffic issues. Other possible issues – Flash-based or proprietary online readers.
• Simultaneous Access: This applies only to online reading and the options are single-user, multi-user or unlimited simultaneous access. Single-access means the eBook can be read by one person at a time, just like a print book. Multi-access usually is 5 or less, and unlimited simultaneous access is unlimited.
• Downloading: This applies to offline reading. The majority of eBook fiction titles are single access. For popular fiction, consider buying multiple copies. Some publishers allow downloadable books to be shared, usually among an individual reader’s personal devices. For school libraries, downloading to shared-use lab or library computers is not recommended because it ties up single-access licenses for the minimum checkout period.
• Devices and file formats: These mainly apply to offline reading and can get very complicated. Adobe Digital Editions and .EPUB are the most flexible and compatible.
• Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Copyright protection: These apply to offline reading. Digital and copy rights are set by the publisher, not the vendor, and business models are highly variable. For some publishers, 10% copy rights means each user is allowed to copy 10% of the content. For others, it means 10% may be copied over the life of the eBook. Make sure you understand the publisher’s limitations.

With the state of eBook publishing still so much in flux, ETLS will need to pay close attention, and our collection development policy direction will need to remain flexible.

Charlie Leckenby manages Denver Public Schools’ professional library and assists with collection development across the school district.

by Robert Guerrero, Philadelphia Chapter, Legal Division

In 2002, I attended my first SLA Annual Conference in Los Angeles where I took in a session discussing a device fresh to market, the Sony eReader. Much of the debate centered on its shortcomings and deficiencies, and ultimately on its greatest flaw…. it wasn’t a book! Yet, I remember leaving that conference thinking the ebook was something to keep an eye on for The Future.

Hello Future! In April 2011, CNN reported that ebook sales topped paperbacks for the first time in history. All the major book retailers have released their own e-book readers, and those that were late to market (i.e. Borders), fell victim to this tsunami of sea change. But what does this mean for my users in the legal profession? How can I assist them in this great transition? Being ready for the future requires investigation, preparation and (ultimately) implementation.

First, it is important to know what your users are using. For me, I prefer to engage my users in casual conversations in the elevator or by the water cooler. Do you use an ereader? Which kind? What do you think? What are the pluses and minuses? But this may only scratch the surface of potential adopters. I also bring this up during training sessions. This forum allows us to get into more of the technical aspects. But to really conduct a full investigation, a formal survey is the best route. I make it a part of summer and fall associate orientation. Hard data on what tools users are using is gold for preparing for the next step.

It is also important to know if the information your users use and need is available in their preferred format. In the legal industry, electronic book content is growing at an exponential rate. For example, the number of legal ebooks available through Lexis has more than doubled in just the last three months alone! And if the content isn’t yet available, let your publishers know. Will this reduce the amount of print materials required in the library? How does licensing and access work in this new medium? These are questions worth asking and answering. Your users will certainly want to know before fully embracing any new format.

Finally, it is important to know where and how it will be used. Can ebook readers be taken into court? Can these devices replace cumbersome print source materials such as rules, codes, and case notebooks? Before implementation can be realized, many of these questions need to be addressed. But as we move along during this transition from a print to a shared print/electronic medium, many questions remain. Taking the time to investigate and prepare are key to the implementation process and to ensuring that information professionals lead the way as books become more compact, digital and accessible to our users.

Robert Guerrero is the library manager at the law firm of Richards, Layton & Finger in Wilmington, DE, He is the current president of the Philadelphia Chapter of SLA, and a member of the Legal Division and Baseball Caucus. He can be reached at guerrero@rlf.com.

Tricia Thomas, Georgia Chapter, Legal Division Chair Elect-Elect

The Green movement and measures to be more environmentally conscious have been around for several years. The concept is certainly not a new one. But the Alston & Bird library decided to take a look at our some of our processes and discover ways that we could “green things up” around here. This review has ranged from examining some of our day-to-day processes to giving our physical book collection a closer look.

The Alston & Bird Atlanta office will soon be consolidating operations from two high rises into one.  Currently, the Atlanta library collection exists in a main library and 15 different satellite locations. We are looking to eliminate those satellite libraries and consolidate the Atlanta library collection into a single location, which will likely mean reduced floor space. This possible consolidation means we need to decide which texts are no longer used, out-of-date, or no longer published and eliminate those texts from our collection. For those texts that take up a lot of physical space, we need to consider exclusive online options such as eBooks and online databases. At the moment, we are looking at the possibility of moving several LexisNexis and Law Journal Seminars Press texts over to eBook access only. Of course, this may open up a whole can of pricing and licensing worms, but we feel it’s a move in a more green direction since we’ll be using less paper and space. Plus, moving more resources online gives our attorneys and staff more opportunities to do their legal research remotely. The ability to do more at home, at a client site, or at a professional conference means less commuting into the office resulting in less vehicle emissions polluting our atmosphere.

Another process the Alston & Bird library is looking to change is our Bluebooking and cite checking services. The Alston & Bird library takes pride in our years of experience cite checking briefs, memos, client letters, and other firm work products. For years, when a document has been submitted to the library for cite checking, we have printed that document, penciled in our suggestions and changes, and scanned a copy back to the attorney. Sometimes, we are also printing a copy of a Westcheck report which would identify any negative history associated with the cited cases. Recently, we have started testing a product by Microsoft called OneNote. OneNote has been around for several years but we have found a way to integrate it into our cite checking processes without disrupting any versions of the attorney’s document. OneNote allows us to draw, highlight, type, link other documents, and collaborate with our team members without ever having to print the first piece of paper. Not only is OneNote helping us kill less trees, it’s yet another example of how technology is allowing us to work and collaborate more efficiently in and out of the office.

These are just a couple of examples of how the Alston & Bird library is Future Ready. How is your library preparing for the future?

Tricia Thomas currently serves as the Legal Division’s Chair Elect-Elect. In addition to SLA, Tricia is a long-standing member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the Atlanta Law Libraries Association (ALLA), and the Southeastern chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL). From 2006 to 2008, Tricia assisted the chair of SLA’s Legal Division by serving on the division’s planning committee for the 2008 annual conference in Seattle, Washington. Most recently, from 2010 to 2011, she served as SLA Legal Division Director. Additionally, Tricia has co-authored several articles on legal research and knowledge management in law firms and has participated in presentations on these topics throughout the United States.

Tricia has worked in law firm libraries for nearly 20 years and serves as the Library Manager for Alston & Bird’s Atlanta office. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oglethorpe University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Valdosta State University.

By Iris Jastram

Imagine walking through the stacks in your favorite library. The slightly worn spines creating that familiar regular irregularity on each side, that distinctive smell of books and dust and filtered air, everything promising far more to explore than you could ever chart out in one lifetime, everything beckoning you toward its own particular rabbit hole of interconnected facts and ideas. Imagine pulling several books off the shelves to take with you, either to check out or to spread in front of you in the reading room.

Now imagine that each book you’ve selected comes with different usage rules. This one only allows you to see one chapter at a time. That one only lets you check it out for 24 hours, and no more than three times over the course of the year. This other one opens itself and all of its contents to you, while the fourth will only let you see its table of contents until a full 24 hours has elapsed since the last reader cracked its pages. Each book’s publisher has decided just how much of the book you can see and for how long based on the publisher’s idea of what’s fair.

Imagine the work on the library’s side to keep track of all these different usage and loan rules for items in the collection and to guide its readers through the various hoops each publisher requires. Imagine the librarians returning to antiquated roles as gatekeepers of information as they’re forced to ensure compliance with all the various publisher rules lest the publishers swoop in and remove all of their books from the library’s shelves.

Hard to imagine?

Now imagine walking through the digital stacks of an ebooks collection.

Iris Jastram is the Reference and Instruction Librarian for Languages and Literature at Carleton College. She also blogs about librarianship and instruction at Pegasus Librarian.

by Kristin McNally

Growing up on The Jetsons, I thought the future would include a house in the sky, travel by flying car, and fulfillment of every need at the push of a button.

While I don’t have Rosie the robot to keep my home in pristine condition and my car’s rubber tires are still firmly planted to the ground, Hanna-Barbera was heading in the right direction with the theme of micro technology. My wall is adorn with hanging flat televisions, my phone is a miniature computer with applications like video chat, navigation and even a way to see which local gas station has the best price.

I may not have my every need at the push of a button, but I can find the answer to almost any question in a matter of seconds. Knowledge is easier than ever to disseminate, access and share, which means the information industry is rapidly evolving to keep up with the progression of technology. Are we still relevant? Useful? Needed? With the right tools, the answer is yes.

I am so proud to work for a company focused on innovation. Every day I learn more about how Swets is paving the way for libraries to fit in the future. With less than a year of experience in the industry, I have found myself amazed with the complexities involved in running a library. I always the thought the books just appeared on the doorstep, a sticker was slapped inside, and someone shoved it where it was alphabetically appropriate. Needless to say, I have been proven wrong.

Swets has designed our platform, SwetsWise, in such a sophisticated manner that it is easily accessible and fully functional through a smart phone browser.

eBooks in SwetsWise has recently integrated a Google Books Preview, providing users with added values like reviews, ratings and suggestions for related content along with basic information including a cover shot and in most cases the table of contents, literary introduction, and publishing details.

We also have a cutting edge search product boasting the latest technology in federated search. This second-generation development introduces speed to amazing quality, offering clustered, relevance-ranked results to appear in seconds. Its affordability compared to Discovery is even more appealing. There will always be value in the technical and organizational support of information and information users.

Swets has carefully developed the tools you need to excel despite the many hurdles you currently face. Our customers have helped immensely in turning this dream into reality. We have made it easier than ever to hear your needs by implementing User Voice in SwetsWise. This enormous worldwide suggestion box allows customers to offer suggestions for improvement and continued development. Plus, you can vote on your favorite or most agreeable recommendations to help us to rank your requests.

Bubble car or not, the future is here. Providers, publishers and information professionals need to join forces to effectively develop, evolve and survive. At Swets, we are leading the effort to help you compete in a technology driven market with expectations of mobile access and immediacy. We hope you’ll join us for the ride.

Kristin McNally is the Communications Specialist at Swets. As the world’s leading Information Service provider, Swets powers the work of thousands of academic, corporate, medical and government organizations, simplifying the way you acquire, access and manage your resources. To learn more, visit www.swets.com.

by Richard Huffine, SLA Board of Directors, Division Cabinet-Chair Elect

I am becoming future ready by pursuing new publishing models on behalf of my organization. I work for a Federal research organization with over 130 years of experience producing research to inform decision-makers. Our research has shaped policy and practice and the library has played an important role in supporting both the research and the dissemination of that research. Our library maintains the complete catalog of publications by our staff and we have converted more than half of our backlist catalog for on-line access. The future is digital, we know that but what will it mean to be digital in the future?

Do we want our research products listed in the Amazon Marketplace? Google’s ebookstore or Apple’s iBookstore? What does it mean to publish an ebook versus a traditional report? How do these new outlets (and their associated standards) change the way we prepare our research for dissemination and use by other researchers, students, and the general public?

The Library is the perfect place to be exploring these new publishing models and work with the institution to adapt to these new approaches to dissemination of information. Our library purchases ebooks, on-line journals, and database content. We are working with our users to figure out how Blackberries, iPhones, iPads and other tools will be used to consume information and to put data in the hands of our researchers in the field. Future Ready for me is about preparing my organization for the future and hopefully placing us ahead of the curve.

Richard Huffine is SLA’s Division Cabinet Chair-Elect. He is the National Library Coordinator at the U.S. Geological Survey.  He has been active in SLA since 2004 as the founding Chair of the Government Information Division.  He is also an active member of ALA, and is President-Elect of the District of Columbia Library Association.