Amazon gives the public a taste of the treatment academic libraries have been highlighting for years For over a decade, the Amazon Kindle has been the poster child for the digital reading revolution. It promised a library in your pocket, a seamless partnership between the tactile world of paper an…

Check out the latest Kindle skullduggery from Amazon and how it relates to the experience Libraries have been banging the drum about for years... librarianth.home.blog/2026/04/15/a...

Amazon gives the public a taste of the treatment academic libraries have been highlighting for years

We are seeing the erosion of customer rights and expectations as well as their downgrade to an ancillary coincidence in favour of profit pursuit at all costs.

Have a light bit of Friday afternoon reading about Reading List Policies and Guidelines

5 ways that they can be robust, and why academic libraries inevitably need them

Enjoy...

Good Morning #Glasgow

Excellent breakfast views of the croissantadillo, almost ready for #UKSG2026

People Are Better Than Systems: 5 Reasons Why Human Expertise Trumps Shiny Centralisation I am really looking forward to presenting about this topic at the NAG Seminar 2026 in Nottingham on May 20th and May 21st (open for bookings now, get signed up and if you aren’t a NAG member,…

People are better than Systems

This is a mere taster of the presentation I will be giving at the @uklibrariesnag.bsky.social Seminar 2026 in May, come along and enjoy all of the reasons that I think people rule and systems drool

Happy Friday, enjoy
librarianth.home.blog/2026/03/27/p...

People Are Better Than Systems: 5 Reasons Why Human Expertise Trumps Shiny Centralisation I am really looking forward to presenting about this topic at the NAG Seminar 2026 in Nottingham on May 20th and May 21st (open for bookings now, get signed up and if you aren't a NAG member, consider joining this fantastic organisation) At the seminar, I will be talking very specifically about the knowledge and expertise that has been invaluable from our teams at University of York, consider this a teaser article that covers a small fraction of the concepts, ideas, and examples that will be delivered (powerpoint style) to Seminar attendees.

People are better than Systems

This is a mere taster of the presentation I will be giving at the NAG Seminar, come along and enjoy all of the reasons that I think people rule and systems drool

Happy Friday, enjoy

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 5 – The Wider Sector In our previous post, we dove into the somewhat surreal world of library analytics, where a turnaway is the digital equivalent of a student lamenting access in the stacks, and marketing is the art of promising a party where there’s only one chair. We’ve looked at the metadata, the licences, and the spreadsheets. Now,, it's time to look more widely, because as much as we’d like to believe our acquisitions strategies exist in a vacuum of local need and budget, the reality is that we are small fish in a very large, occasionally predatory, corporate ocean.

Welcome to the final part of my Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians series

In Part 5 we will look at The Wider Sector

On today's episode of "Instantly Believeable"...

Welcome to the latest entry in the Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians series...

Part 4 - Statistics & Promotion

This section looks at how we talk to our user communities about the e-books and packages that we have acquired

🤣🤣🤣 feeling very flattered

A recap on this, for all the budding acquisitions librarians out there, or for anyone interested in a peek under the Library hood

Part 1 - Purchasing E-Books
Part 2 - Schemes and Packages
Part 3 - Managing E-Books

All parts are cross-linked: librarianth.home.blog/2026/02/23/b...

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 3 – Managing E-Books Welcome to the third post in my series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. In our previous post, we navigated the high-level landscape of e-book procurement—exploring how Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA), DDA, and big-brand packages allow us to scale our collections. We looked at the "how" and the "where" of getting content into our digital ecosystem. Here is a breakdown of the series so far:

The newest addition to the "Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians" series

Once we've worked out the "where" and "how" of buying e-books, we then need to work out what to do with them in our collections

Welcome to Part 3 – Managing E-Books

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 2 – Schemes and Packages. Welcome to the second post in my series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Over the coming weeks, I will be pulling back the curtain on the digital supply chain to explore methods of purchase, supplier relationships, and what happens next. Today we are looking at Schemes and Packages Here is a breakdown of the series so far:

The newest addition to the "Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians" series

To build a scalable, responsive collection, we have to look beyond individual transactions. Welcome to Part 2 – Schemes and Packages.

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 1 – Purchasing E-Books. In the ever-evolving landscape of academic library collections, the shift toward digital has often been framed as a straightforward evolution, a simple migration from shelf to screen. Yet, as any Acquisitions Librarian can tell you, the reality of building a digital collection is a complex dance of licensing, logistics, and strategic negotiation. While our patrons see the convenience of a click, we navigate a labyrinth of platforms, permissions, and pricing models behind the scenes.

Part 1 of a 4 part series looking at the acquisiton of e-books for academic libraries

Part 1 - Purchasing E-Books
Interesting for acquisitions librarians or anyone involved in procurement, licensing, and that Library life in general

5 Ways A Well-Designed Controlled Digital Lending Scheme (CDL) Can Improve Your Academic Library If you’ve spent any time in a university library lately, you’ll know we’re living in a bit of a divided era. On one hand, we’ve got these magnificent, sometimes centuries old, print collections that user communities love and value (and honestly, who can blame them? There’s nothing like the smell of an old book). On the other, we’re battling a digital marketplace that feels increasingly like a wild west of restrictive licenses, rising costs, and content that can vanish at the whim of a platform update.

Controlled Digital Lending isn't a term that should strike fear in the hearts of Librarians, despite legal cases in the US (such as Hachette v Internet Archive) that may make it seem like a risk

5 Ways A Well-Designed Controlled Digital Lending Scheme (CDL) Can Improve Your Academic Library...

Indeed, both of those tools have been invaluable, Rapid has been so vital, we've also found Article Galaxy Scholar to be helpful too

Yikes, thanks for the spot 🤣

5 things for University Librarians to think about when exiting a Read and Public agreement The landscape of UK higher education has recently shifted, with news that terms have been agreed with five major academic publishers via Jisc negotiations. While some might be tempted to view this as a "done deal," another perspective would describe it as a pragmatic reflection from the sector that further negotiation on terms is simply no longer possible. The harsh reality is that, given the severe financial challenges facing the sector, many of these agreements will remain fundamentally unaffordable for many institutions.

It's a nightmare scenario for a Library

You likely don't want to leave a huge Read and Publish deal, it's complex & very messy

But you won't always get to choose. If you HAVE to do it, here are some tips from someone who has been there (Happy New Year btw)...

Back to work for the first time in 2026

HNY bluesky gang 🎉🍻🥂

2026 resolution: Naps & snacks 👍

The tribute was much better than the football today 🤣
#utb #boro #chrisrea

To our family, friends, workplace proximity associates, enemies, and meh people

Merry Christmas ya Filthy Animals, and a Happy New Year

Eat too much, drink too much, open tonnes of pressies and here's to a magnificent 2026 🍻🥂 x

5 Reasons OERs Could Unlock Opportunities for UK Academic Libraries Adopt - Adapt - Create Open Educational Resources (OERs) are freely accessible, openly licensed instructional materials, from full courses and textbooks to videos and images. They can be used, adapted, and shared by anyone. These resources embody the principles of openness and reuse, moving beyond the often restrictive models of traditional publishing. While OER adoption is widespread in parts of North America and other regions, its integration into core teaching practice across the UK higher education landscape is still nascent.

Adopt - Adapt - Create

Open Educational Resources have the potential to solve (or at least ease) a great deal of Library issues

I explore some of those here: 5 Reasons OERs Could Unlock Opportunities for UK Academic Libraries

#OER #OA #Libraries #Textbooks

While "audiobooks ARE reading" is one hill i'd always die on, another crops up at this time of year

Die Hard IS a Christmas film, this is a verified science fact

ITV news say the British Public think different, however, the British Public are terrible at voting on things

#DieHard #ChristmasFilm

And so begins the Hellberg era
#utb #comeonboro

Print Books vs E-Books: 5 reasons why print books persist in the digital age The digital age has fundamentally transformed the academic library, with the acquisition of e-books and online resources becoming the dominant force in collection development. The sheer volume, ease of remote access, and discoverability of electronic resources have undeniably reshaped scholarly research. To illustrate this seismic shift, consider the purchasing data for one-off resources at the University of York , where electronic resources have consistently commanded 70-80% of the total budget in recent years

Do we still even need print books?

It's a common and understandable question. This Librarian thinks YES, here are just 5 reasons why (I have no doubt there are many more)...
#library #libraries #books #ebooks #printbooks #librarian

Brilliant Lego Goonies set so far, absolutely massive, and gonna look epic when it's done 🤣

40 years of The Goonies

Here we go again with this, but this time via a blog too

Say it with me, Audiobooks (and all forms of assistive software) definitely count as reading. It's perfectly fine to describe that activity as "I have read [x]"

If you more, read on...

librarianth.home.blog/2025/11/10/d...

💙📚 #booksky

Thanks, good point, have tinkered with the language to try and reflect that 👍

Do Audiobooks Count as Reading? (Spoiler: YES!) I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the Great Audiobook Debate. It sounds like a wrestling match in the book club, and honestly, it sometimes feels like one. You know the scene: you're excited to discuss a new book, and you mention, "Oh, I listened to the audiobook," only to have someone reply, "So, you didn't actually read it?" Cue the eye-roll.

Revisiting this question once again...

Do audiobooks count as reading? Spoiler: YES

It must be correct because a Librarian told you its true, but also, read on for even more reasons

#books #ebooks #audiobooks #library #libraries #reading