CDL- Illustrations in humanities ebooks (response 4)

[New post followed by original question.  JA]

CDL- Illustrations in humanities ebooks (response 4)
From: "Vernell Ward" <Vernell.Ward_at_okbu.edu>

I love electronic, when it is done well.

I see no difference in e-books and online databases that either omit the illustrations or 
provide them in black & white. Charts and other illustrations that were created in color 
were there for clarification. Many libraries have no problem in dropping serials titles 
without realizing that sometimes they are not providing a service to those who use our 
libraries. Pdf files can be in color but many times they are created as straight black & 
white with no shades of gray, etc. Try to pick out the blues, reds, greens and oranges, 
etc. in an image or a chart. Html files that reference an image without providing the 
image are the worst!

When e-books and journals are published electronically, there is no reason that they 
cannot be scanned into color or provided with the same "readibility" as the print version. 
If nothing else, additional (supplemental) materials might be provided with minimal cost 
to the vendor, who still is avoiding printing "x" many copies in 3-colors, etc.


Vernell Ward
Serials/Gov.Doc. Librarian
OBU Box 61309
500 W. University
Shawnee, OK 74804
405-878-2284
vernell.ward_at_okbu.edu

"To ask why we need libraries at all, when there is so much information available 
elsewhere, is about as sensible as asking if roadmaps are necessary now that there are so 
very many roads."

---Jon Bing, 2009. American Libraries


-----Original Message-----

From: owner-COLLDV-L_at_usc.edu [mailto:owner-COLLDV-L_at_usc.edu] On Behalf
Of Lynn Sipe
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 11:17 AM
To: COLLDV-L_at_usc.edu
Subject: CDL- illustrations in humanities ebooks


      From:
      "Anderson, Helen" <handerson_at_library.rochester.edu


      Apologies for cross-posting with the collib-l list.

      Hello,

      In addition to my work as a librarian, I'm on the editorial board of a

      small academic humanities publisher. To date, they have been supplying

      only their backlist titles as ebooks. They submit a disclaimer that
      reads " Some images in the printed version of this book are not
      available for inclusion in the eBook. To view the images on this page
      please refer to the printed version of this book." In other words,
      they do not have the electronic rights for all the illustrations.

      Now, they would like to move further into the field of ebooks. Rather
      than only supplying backlist titles, they intend to release front list

      titles within 60 days of the printed book release. Securing electronic

      rights to all the illustrations at the same time as securing the print

      rights, would increase the price of the book.

      They want to know how librarians feel about purchasing eBooks that
      don't have the same number of illustrations as the printed version?
      They would like to understand what concerns and reactions librarians
      have regarding this.

      I gave a fairly nuanced response to my contact, saying that it
      depended on the title. To save a bit on the price, I reasoned, it
      might be OKAY not to have all the illustrations. When it comes to
      humanities, I usually buy the print first and the ebook later in order

      to provide a greater number of students and faculty. This is a
      reflection feedback I've had from our humanities faculty. Yes, they
      want to use stuff from their desktop, but they still want us to have
      the print in the collection. So if the ebook is seen as supplementary
      to the print, maybe it's OKAY to have it without all the illustrations.

      Now that I think it over, I can see that this is a slippery slope.
      This is the reasoning of someone who is trying to make her dwindling
      budget go as far as possible. Wouldn't this just increase confusion?
      Wouldn't it consign the ebook to a lesser status in relation to the
      print? What is the book anyway? Shouldn't the author be deciding in
      conjunction with the editor which illustrations should be included? If

      the illustrations are lacking, doesn't that change the nature of the
      book? And what about cost?

      Where is the answer? I would love to hear your thoughts and so would
      my publisher.

      Thank you,

      Helen

      Helen Anderson

      Head, Collection Development

      River Campus Libraries

      University of Rochester

      Rochester, NY 14627-0055

      Tel. 585-275-3302