|
| FTE |
|
|
844 |
 |
| Type |
|
|
Academic Library |
| Location |
|
|
Oakland, CA |
| Implementation date |
|
|
12/24/2002 |
| Collection |
|
|
Academic Complete |
| Contact |
|
|
Joyce McLean
Director of Library Services
mclean@hnu.edu
(510) 436-1160
|
|
What trends impacted your
decision to subscribe
to ebrary? |
|
• |
The migration toward electronic format is very strong in most content areas. |
| • |
ebrary’s willingness to work through our Statewide California Library Consortium was a large factor. |
| • |
ebrary’s pricing model was very good for a small university with many subject disciplines to cover. |
| • |
Ease of access and multiple simultaneous use without checkout periods were two other factors. |
| • |
Lack of stacks space was also a consideration. |
|
| What issues or problems has ebrary addressed at your library? |
|
• |
ebrary really has helped us to cost effectively provide current books in a wide variety of subject disciplines needed for students doing research, especially those working from remote locations (including our video-conference students). We’ve too few staff to manage a large volume of book deliveries or interlibrary loans for distance students, and ebrary eliminates the need for that unless very specialized materials are required. |
| • |
As we have limited expansion space in our stacks for print books, ebrary has also helped us in that arena. |
| • |
Free MARC cataloging saves us a substantial amount of money. |
|
| What do you and your patrons like best about ebrary’s technology? |
|
• |
Easy access and no checkout periods. |
| • |
Students can set up their own accounts even from remote locations, with no staff intervention. |
|
| Favorite feature(s)? |
|
• |
Highlighting and note taking are both very useful. |
|
| What do you and your patrons like best about ebrary’s content? |
|
• |
ebrary has an awesome variety of subject coverage, which is very important for a liberal arts curriculum. I was surprised how much good quality material our nursing students find for their research. When I looked at other vendor collections that were specifically selected for Health Sciences content, I found that many items were already in the ebrary collection. |
|
| How does ebrary compare to other digital resources at your library? |
|
• |
ebrary resources get much more use than other e-book collections that require a checkout period. |
| • |
I really like leasing the collection with an option to purchase perpetual access for the most used items. |
| • |
The way the collection is refreshed with new editions and materials on a rolling basis (with no weeding necessary) means this collection doesn't require as much management. It's always up-to-date. |
| • |
The ebrary service is the best in the business. Technical help is consistently prompt in responding and very user-friendly. When we set up our Horizon Remote Patron Authentication, ebrary was the first vendor to respond to our request for set-up information and completed the set-up and test in record time. ebrary’s training materials online and in print are really helpful. |
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