1 of 24

Developing User-Centered Collections at a Research Library:

An Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA) Pilot in STEM

NYSCILIB 2021 Virtual Meeting, October 8, 2021

Jin Guo, Associate Dean, Florida International University Libraries

Clara Tran, Head of Science and Engineering, Stony Brook University Libraries

2 of 24

Does your library currently have an EBA program in place?

Yes
No
In process

Poll

3 of 24

Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA)
Research questions
Research Methods
Results & Discussion
Conclusions

Outline

4 of 24

Allow libraries to set up the cost upfront for the EBA collection
Provide access to the entire ebook collection
Libraries can purchase selected titles at the end of the EBA period

According to a local collection development policy

Evidence-Base Acquisition (EBA)

5 of 24

1. What is the process of implementing EBA?

2. How do SBU users use EBA ebooks versus subscribed ebook collections?

3. Is EBA an effective acquisition model and how does it impact on the future collection development strategy?

Research Questions

6 of 24

COUNTER reports
Microsoft Excel
Usage reports

Springer Nature EBA ebook collection

November 2019 to October 2020
3186 titles

General STEM ebook collection

January 2019 to December 2019
Filtered from general ebook collection
4406 titles

Research Methods

7 of 24

Selected top-100-use titles from both sources

Top-108-use titles ended up as the sample

Same downloads for multiple top titles

Assigned the Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings

Research Methods

8 of 24

1. What is the process of implementing EBA?

EBA pilot setup

Resources management system

Ex Libris Alma / Primo VE
Three subcollections (2016, 2017, and 2018)

Research Methods

9 of 24

2. How do SBU users use EBA ebooks versus subscribed ebook collections?

Results

10 of 24

Use Intensity And Use Percent Of Two Ebook Collections

Results

We examined the EBA Ebook Collections’ and the general STEM Ebook Collections’ monthly download.

The EBA ebook collection contained 3186 titles in which 361 titles (11.33%) were used with a total download of 6810.

You will see that there were 3 peak uses in the EBA collection, namely November 2019, April 2020, and September 2020. The 1st peak use/download coincided with the initial launch of the EBA pilot in November 2019. The 2nd peak use in April 2020 was the time that our school changed our modalities in mid-March from in-person to remote learning during the COVID pandemic. The 3rd peak use in September 2020 demonstrated the use of this collection during the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester.

On the other hand, the general STEM collection contained 4406 titles in which 5631 titles (89.2%) were used with a total download of 42,775.

The download was quite constant during the Spring of 2019. Although there was a drop during the summer, the download picked up again in the fall, especially in October 2019 and November 2019.

In fact, the use pattern of the two collections was quite similar: good use during the spring and fall semesters, but a drop of use during the summer.

11 of 24

Use Intensity And Use Percent Of Two Ebook Collections

Results and Discussion

12 of 24

High-Impact Ebook Subjects

Results

13 of 24

High-Impact Ebook Subjects

Results

14 of 24

Results

Book Category	Book Type
1. Briefs	Briefs
2. Reference	Handbook, encyclopedia, reference work
3. Research, professional and trade	Monographs, contributed volumes, proceedings, etc.
4. Textbook	Graduate, advanced undergraduate textbook, and undergraduate textbook

EBA Ebook Composition

15 of 24

EBA Title Selection

Results

16 of 24

EBA Title Selection

Results

17 of 24

EBA Title Selection

Results

18 of 24

EBA Title Selection

Results

19 of 24

Similar subjects in two collections

Computer Science
Engineering
Other sciences

Engineering ebooks in the EBA collection

Supplemented the general STEM ebook collection

Discussion

3. Is EBA an effective acquisition model and how does it impact on the future collection development strategy?

20 of 24

Final selection criteria

Type of materials
Year of publication
Title use pattern

Timing of the EBA ebook pilot

Covid period

Discussion

21 of 24

EBA workflow implementation

Ex Libris Alma

Supplementation

Good addition to general STEM ebook collection

Year of publication in STEM

Preferred most recent publications

Neglected monographic materials

Handbooks
Proceedings
Textbooks

Conclusions

22 of 24

Developing the EBA profile

Diversify ebook publishers and book types

Considered expanding EBA project to other disciplines

Humanities
Social sciences

Conclusions

23 of 24

Tran, C. Y., & Guo, J. X. (2021). Developing user-centered collections at a research library: An Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA) pilot in STEM. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5), 102434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102434

Publication

24 of 24

Thank You!