[Eril-l] User licenses for textbook eBooks

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

Hi Maribel,

The age-old question. I think it entirely depends on your circumstances and can change for each book or subject.
As a university that has 5 campuses spread across the state, we are e-preferred but have a set criteria and a set formula to follow depending on a number of factors.

Main things to consider are:
Enrolled student numbers (all campuses, all semesters if possible)
DRM rights of the book - can it be copied/downloaded etc, or read online only
Price - anything over a certain price has to be approved by a manager
Is print available as a substitute for some copies, and if so, can the required chapters be digitised for the reading list?

As an example we tend to stick to 1 user licence per 50 students up to 9 total user licences. Unless of course the DRM is terrible, or the price is exorbitant, but we will assess each case title by title, working with our reading lists team to see what options we have there too.

Hope that helps,

Ella Rohde-Condon (she/her)
Coordinator, Collections
La Trobe University
Collections and Researcher Services
Bundoora Library
P +61 9479 1913 |  E e.rohde-condon at latrobe.edu.au<mailto:e.rohde-condon at latrobe.edu.au>
latrobe.edu.au<http://www.latrobe.edu.au/>


From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l
Sent: Saturday, May 3, 2025 5:19 AM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
Subject: [Eril-l] User licenses for textbook eBooks

All -

We're working with faculty and IDD on a new course and were asked about an unlimited user license for an eBook. Unfortunately, the publisher only offers 1- or 3-user options for this title.
If unlimited access isn't available, how should we decide how many licenses to get? Obviously, we need to know expected enrollment, but is there some other metric we can use?
I look forward to your comments, and thank you!

Maribel Castro, E-Resources Management Librarian
mcastro at excelsior.edu<mailto:mcastro at excelsior.edu> | (518) 608-8368
Excelsior University Library<https://library.excelsior.edu/>
Library FAQs<https://libanswers.excelsior.edu/>

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