A report of an OCLC Research survey of library special collections holdings and practices at selected institutions in the United States and Canada. Numerous charts and tables summarizing responses are included. Recommendations for best practices are also provided.

Written from the perspective of a librarian, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the impact of e-books on academic libraries. The author discusses advantages to both researchers and librarians and provides current examples of innovative uses of e-books in academic contexts. This book reviews the current situation in e-book publishing, and describes problems in managing e-books in libraries caused by the variety of purchase models and varying formats available, and the lack of standardisation. It discusses solutions for providing access and maintaining bibliographic control, looks at various initiatives to publicise and promote e-books, and compares e-book usage surveys to track changes in user preferences and behaviour over the last decade. E-books have already had a huge impact on academic libraries, and major advances in technology will bring further changes. There is a need for collaboration between libraries and publishers. The book concludes with reflections on the future of e-books in academic libraries. - Describes how e-books have changed library services and how they have enabled academic libraries to align with the e-learning initiatives of their universities - Discusses problems with e-book collection development and management and lists examples of solutions - Examines trends in user behaviour and acceptance of e-books