A new white paper on Springer Book Archives (SBA) has just been released by Springer, in partnership with Maverick Publishing Services:Reflections on closing the gap in research. This paper tells the story of how the Springer Book Archives came into being and how important titles were rescued from the fragility of a few print copies to become part of the world’s largest collection of eBooks. The SBA has been embraced by leading universities worldwide, to be studied and enjoyed by modern scientists and to become part of the ongoing conversation that is scientific enquiry.
The paper includes the insights from leading libraries as to what triggered them to invest in an archive product like SBA and how they see the usage developing across this large collection of books. These universities include the University of Melbourne (Australia), University of Auckland (New Zealand), University of Boras (Sweden) and Istanbul Technical University (Turkey).
The general consensus among all early adopters is that the SBA titles show high usage. Researchers and students are finding that the SBA provides a variety of benefits in supporting their work. In addition, the high usage triggers libraries to explore opportunities for further cost savings of physical storage.
Philip Kent, University Librarian at the University of Melbourne, said, “It is anticipated that over the next few years further analysis of usage of Springer Book Archives and other eBook collections will help to inform storage decisions.”
Janet Copsey, University Librarian and Director, Libraries and Learning Services at the University of Auckland, commented: “Our downloads do seem amazing but they are also a clear indication of the value of e-content at the University of Auckland. Even though we have an extensive legacy in print collections, the majority of our overall collection is now digital and located somewhere in the cloud rather than on-site in the libraries.”
Wouter van der Velde, Senior eProduct Manager eBooks at Springer, added, “This paper is a comprehensive description of what efforts have gone into creating the Springer Book Archives, both by Springer staff as well as by library champions across the world. More importantly, leading institutions globally have given us their feedback about their experiences with the archives.” He continued, “At Springer, we were already convinced that the SBA would be a very welcome resource for researchers and students, but now the statistics and testimonials confirm the great value that lies within the SBA. In seconds, researchers can easily retrieve and use valuable content from the past, still relevant today. The high usage, reported by the early adopters, proves this statement and is seen to have an excellent return on investment for libraries completing or replacing their print collections.”
The paper is posted on www.springer.com/bookarchives and will be available at upcoming conferences as well. For more information, please stop by the Springer booth 0727 at the American Library Association (ALA) annual meeting in San Francisco, June 25-30, 2015.
