Rapid development in the realms of electronic publishing has had a profound impact on information services in general and the academic library in particular. Since mid 1990´s an increasingly number of scholarly journals and other information resources have been made available electronically. Electronic books are the newest electronic service in the hybrid library and can be seen as the third wave in the digital library. Although electronic books have for a long time existed as electronic texts such as digitalized classics or other texts in the public domain, it is not until recently that e-books have been distributed and packaged in a commercial form. As more e-book models are being developed, libraries are being forced to take e-books into consideration when planning their information services.
The aim of this master thesis is to describe the first stage of implementation of the new electronic media, the electronic book or e-book, in Swedish academic libraries. Swedish and international experiences with the implementation of various e-book models have been the main scope of this study. The thesis focuses on implementation strategies, problems and challenges, but also e-books strengths and possibilities to improve library service. In a review of current literature, the author discusses the contrasting definitions of an e-book that exists today, gives insight in and background to the international e-book debate and e-book technology, and presents the e-book context. To investigate the choices and strategies surrounding the first implementation of e-books in Sweden, a qualitative interview study was undertaken at four academic libraries during the autumn of 2001. The libraries employ different strategies towards other actors on the e-books scene. With the exception of one consortium within social science, SamKon, the libraries chose for various reasons to act on their own during the introductory phase. On the other hand, the interviewed librarians spoke highly of future collaboration between libraries. Consortium agreements are one possible collaboration model. All but one library has had contacts with publishers, though only one had a concrete partnership. The librarians are positive to further partnership with commercial vendors or publishers.
To become a success rather than an experiment, the number of electronic academic books offered must increase and more library friendly e-book models must be developed. These models require different price- and licensing agreements that support the interest of both parties. The condition for a successful implementation is soled collaboration with relevant a...
