Cataloguing e‐books in UK higher education libraries: report of a survey

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a 2006 survey of UK Higher Education OPACs in order to provide a snapshot of cataloguing practices for e‐books.Design/methodology/approachThe OPACs of 30 UK HE libraries were examined in July/August 2006 to determine which e‐books were catalogued, and the level of cataloguing treatment e‐books received. Interviews were conducted by e‐mail with representatives of eight of these libraries.FindingsA total of 28 universities surveyed provided some OPAC records for e‐books; most of these were for subscription collections from suppliers such as ebrary and netLibrary. Five universities included records in their OPACs for individual e‐book titles from collections such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO); four OPACs included records for free e‐books. There are wide variations between institutions in terms of which e‐books are selected for cataloguing.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was undertaken at a particular point in time (summer 2006) and was not exhaustive of all UK HE OPACs.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that it should be made easier for users to search OPACs for e‐books, and that libraries should provide more information on their websites about which e‐books are catalogued.Originality/valueThis paper addresses a gap in the UK literature on cataloguing e‐books.