Electronic books: a call for effective business models
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assert that, in an effort to more effectively match users' needs to purchases and extend the buying power of library budgets for e‐books, libraries should use a profiled purchase on demand option to supplement their current practices.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews usage patterns for print and e‐books, business models for e‐books and comments on the benefits of using a patron‐driven acquisitions model.Findings – Circulation of the print collection is slowly declining, with only 20 per cent of the collection circulating in 2009. Large purchased collections of e‐books statistics are roughly the same but those purchased through Patron‐Driven Acquisitions are assured use.Originality/value – The discussion of current business models for e‐books illustrates some challenges libraries face in transitioning from print to electronic. Patron‐driven models allow libraries to help users at point of need and manage scarce resources.
Own Not Loan: Different Request Sources for Purchase Lists
The interlibrary loan (ILL) department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign implemented an Own Not Loan program in 2002. The program failed due to slow turnaround time and was suspended until a better workflow could be designed. In 2008, librarians reassessed the program when the following resources became available: an acquisitions librarian who had previously worked in ILL, funding through an internal grant, and a graduate assistant trained in ILL processes. The major change between the original program and the second one was the source of the requests. In 2002, the requests were generated through the ILL department, which—unlike many other ILL operations—processes only those difficult requests that cannot be handled through I-Share, the statewide consortial borrowing program. In 2008, however, requests were generated from those requests that I-Share had been unable to fill. The article discusses the differences between the 2002 and the 2008 programs and explains how the changes made the current program successful.
Human Rights Obligations and Transnational Corporations: The Limits of Direct Corporate Responsibility
To date, multinational corporations have had no direct human rights obligations under international law. Nonetheless, international lawyers can no longer ignore the increasing role of non-state actors in international society. This article suggests analysing existing mechanisms and new proposals for enhancing the accountability of transnational corporations, grouped into those focusing on the responsibility of the home and host states and those centred on the imposition of direct obligations on corporations. This article will specifically draw attention to the limits of some of the suggested normative changes, from a legal-theoretical perspective and in terms of their capacity to address effectively the challenges of the lack of respect for human rights laws.