We know from a variety of studies that our students and faculty prefer print books for many uses. These same studies show that preferences for format are situational – there are cases in which the e-book is the preferred format for many of those same users. While many users indicate that they will switch formats based on use cases, libraries do not do a good job of linking users from the print version of a book to the digital version and vice versa. In addition, most libraries collect e-books from a variety of vendors, but do not provide clear connections from one version to another. Finally, we know that many users begin their discovery process on publisher or vendor sites (often guided there from Google).
In order to test how users will behave when confronted with a clear choice in format and to determine whether users beginning on a vendor platform will navigate to other library-provided licensed e-book content, the University of Denver has collaborated with JSTOR on a pilot to embed links directly on the JSTOR e-book page that will guide users to the print version of that title and/or to alternate e-book versions, including when the library does not provide access to that title on the JSTOR platform.
In this presentation, we will explain the rationale behind the project, describe the technical processes involved, and share preliminary usage data for the content involved. We will also describe an expanded vision for how this sort of service could work for journal articles.
