E-books in Irish University Libraries : Changes and challenges in collection development and acquisitions

Sammanfattning: This study examines the impact of the advent of e-books on collection development and acquisition in Irish university libraries. Semi-structured interviews with informants working as acquisition librarians, sub-librarians and collection management librarians were conducted to investigate their experiences and perceptions of e-book acquisition and collection management. This study provides a look at these issues from the perspective of diffusion of innovation and change management theories. The study found that librarians face challenges in setting new collection development policies, acquiring new skills and adjusting to new workflows and extra workloads. The study also revealed that the most fundamental problems librarians face in acquiring e-books are the low availability of e-textbooks, the heavy VAT on e-books as well as a lack of “one-stop-shop” opportunities. There were also worries expressed about the future of academic libraries in the e-book acquisition process. Despite the challenges, academic librarians were very positive towards the resulting changes and innovations.