[Eril-l] User licenses for textbook eBooks

Mon May 5 07:05:23 PDT 2025

Hi Maribel,

We have no formula, but price and enrollment are considerations.  It is a challenge, because professors and students tend to assume that all ebooks are unlimited access.
If we cannot get an unlimited use copy for whatever reason, we will reach out to the professor to warn them and ask them to warn the students.  We give advice on having individuals logout and close the browser to more quickly release the copy for the next reader.  We will also adjust access settings to maximize shared access. For example, we will block download on one copy (i.e., so it can be read online only).

Best, Theresa

Theresa Arndt
Dickinson College Library
Carlisle, PA
arndtt at dickinson.edu
she/her/hers

My work hours may differ from yours.  Please do not feel obliged respond outside your normal work hours.
________________________________
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] User licenses for textbook eBooks

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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/>
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