Many academic libraries these days have decided to eliminate print books from their collections. The print materials are stored in an off-site facility, in a retrieval system on-site, or possibly archived in a special collection. Is Hekman Library still committed to purchasing print books? Absolutely! Our budget has to accommodate rising prices for research databases and periodicals, but we still spend a significant amount on print books. Some academic departments within the college tend to prefer print books for various reasons. And, many students choose print format when they're presented with the option of downloading an ebook or reading the print equivalent.

Every year we find that we purchase more ebooks. Currently, about 20% of our new books are in e-format. We use EBook Library (EBL, the primary one), JSTOR, Springer, Cambridge, and Wiley as primary platforms.

Guiding principles in selecting one format over the other:  

• Availability in e-format
• Cost of print versus electronic (It used to be that print cost a lot less, but no longer)
• What kind of hosting platform the book is available on (We prefer platforms we've already invested in)
• The preference of the person ordering the book - typically a faculty member in that discipline