What percentage of e-book collections at Yale University Library can be accessed via mobile devices? - Report of study conducted by Lisa Carlucci Thomas at Yale University Library, 2009. Report delivered to Yale University Library & presented to YUL Committee on Digital General Resources (CoDGeR), September 2009.

1. Mobile Access to E-books at Yale
Lisa Carlucci Thomas
Digital Collections Librarian
Electronic Collections
Yale University Library
September 2009
I. Introduction
At the Yale University Library, e-books collections increased from approximately 475,000 titles
in 2005 to over 1,000,000 titles in 2009. Concurrently, the demand for mobile access to
information and e-books in particular has grown; fueled by technological developments and by
the expanding number of digitized and born digital e-books readily available to consumers.
This study explores the use of mobile devices to access the e-book collections of the Yale
University Library; with the objective of identifying the percentage of e-book collections that
can be accessed using such devices. The Yale University Library currently provides access to
over one million e-books through subscription or purchase. E-book collections include content
from ABC-Clio, ebrary, Elsevier, NetLibrary, Oxford University Press, Springer, and many
more. With an increasing amount of library funds allocated to e-books, and ongoing
advancements in the mobile technology and the e-book industries, it is important for us to be
aware of how well mobile devices support access to library electronic collections. This study

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examines access to of a subset of e-book collections of the Yale University Library using four
mobile devices.
II. Technology
The term ‘mobile devices’ refers broadly to any portable digital apparatus used to facilitate
reading e-books, from smart phones to pocket personal computers to handheld e-book readers.
For the purpose of this study, four devices were selected from the spectrum of mobile readers on
the market: the commercially popular Amazon Kindle 2 and Sony Reader PRS-500; the robustly
featured iRex iLiad 2nd edition; and the multi-purpose Apple iPod Touch (with identical
firmware to the iPhone). These devices, selected for this study in 2008, offer varying advantages
depending on the needs of the user.
 Amazon Kindle 2.0
The Amazon Kindle 2.0 is the e-reader device with the most widely popular following.
Kindle has an eInk screen; and it offers direct purchase of e-book titles from the Amazon
store, and wireless content delivery through Amazon’s proprietary Whispernet cellular
network . Drawbacks of the Kindle are the requirement of a personal account for e-book
purchases, clunky workarounds for downloading non-Amazon books into the required
Amazon file format (AZW), and the lack of full web browser.
 Sony Reader PRS-500

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Like the Amazon Kindle 2.0, the Sony Reader PRS-500 is a dedicated e-reader equipped
with an eInk screen, though slightly smaller than the Kindle 2.0. The Sony Reader requires a
computer connection with specialized Sony e-book software to download content; there is no
option for wireless functionality and no web browser.
 iRex iLiad 2nd edition
The iRex iLiad 2nd edition offers similar features to the Amazon Kindle 2.0 and Sony Reader
PRS-500, with more advanced capability. The iLiad has an eInk touch screen, stylus
annotation, and it supports many common formats. The iLiad is wi-fi compatible, but does
not contain a fully functional browser. It is one of the most expensive of the dedicated e-
book readers, and is not readily available in the US market and must be purchased online
from iRex (and shipped to the US from the Netherlands).
 Apple iPod Touch
The Apple iPod Touch, and its firmware equivalent, the iPhone, are becoming increasingly
common on campus. Its small size, wireless access to content, Safari mobile browser, and
application store provide the convenience and opportunity to access e-books of multiple
format types. This device connects seamlessly to the Yale wireless network, and offers VPN
functionality. Of all mobile devices tested, the Apple iPod Touch is the only device with an
LCD touch screen; it is also the smallest and most lightweight of the four devices.
III. Methodology

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Sample
Once the devices were chosen, the first step was to select the sample to be tested. We used a
locally created spreadsheet of e-book packages in the Yale University Library collection as the
source document and considered several sorting options to determine the sample group: by
publisher, by platform, by product size, or random selection. For this project, we decided to
organize the spreadsheet by platform and select one e-book resource from each platform. The
following 25 resources made up the sample group:
1. History Reference Online
2. Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts
3. Blackwell Reference Online
4. Books24x7 ITPro Collection
5. Cambridge Histories Online
6. Literature Online
7. Perseus Project
8. ebrary
9. ENGnetBASE: Engineering Handbooks Online
10. Eighteenth Century Collections Online
11. Gutenberg-e
12. ACLS Humanities E-Book
13. Knovel
14. Madame Curie Bioscience Database

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15. Medieval Sources Online
16. NetLibrary (OCLC)
17. SourceOECD
18. Oxford Reference Online
19. Patrologiae Graecae
20. Past Masters
21. Safari Books Online
22. Early English Books Online, 1475-1700
23. Methods in Enzymology
24. Springer Protocols
25. World Bank e-Library
Testing
We tested each mobile device to see whether it could be used to access the e-book resources in
the sample. Using the Amazon Kindle 2.0, Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, and Apple iPod Touch, we
tested the following criteria:
 Could you access e-book using device?
 Could you use an additional method to access Yale licensed e-books on the device (for
instance: bookmark, email, download, copy, or other)?
 What was the format type?
 Rate ability to access using following scale:

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1. Able to access, but unreadable, unusable
2. Able to access, may be readable, difficult to view or navigate
3. Able to access, fairly readable, content viewable
4. Able to access, overall readable, sized to fit screen and can navigate without
difficulty
5. Able to access, very readable, very easy to view content and navigate
We tested “Could you access e-book using device?” by attempting to directly access Yale’s e-
book resources with each device and its unique features. In the event that we could not directly
access the e-book resources, we tested “Could you use an additional method to access Yale
licensed e-books on the device?” by using a desktop computer to explore whether there was any
means of providing mediated access to the Yale licensed e-book (e.g. bookmark, email,
download, copy, or other), based on our knowledge of the technological functions of each
individual device. Concurrent with this step, we took note of “What was the format type?”
Finally, we “Rate[d] ability to access…” using the above scale grading. The tests were
conducted and results recorded in an Excel workbook with the help of the Electronic Collections
student assistant.
III. Findings
Through testing, we found that 84% of the e-book collections of the Yale University Library
could be accessed using at least one mobile device, specifically, the Apple iPod Touch. The

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Apple iPod Touch was the only device that could directly access Yale’s licensed e-books.
Additionally, it had the highest-rated ability to access (64%), compared to the other e-reader
devices tested. The tests indicated that the Amazon Kindle 2.0, Sony Reader PRS-500, and iRex
iLiad 2nd edition could technically be used to access 24% of Yale’s e-books, but required
additional methods, intermediate steps, and workarounds; along with a computer connected to
the Yale network, administrator privileges on the computer’s operating system, and custom USB
cable (specific to each individual device). Since the Amazon Kindle 2.0 requires an Amazon
account and charges a fee to convert downloaded files to the proprietary Amazon file format, no
files were accessed using the Amazon Kindle 2.0; though the findings indicated it would be
possible aside from these limitations.
APPLE IPOD AMAZON KINDLE SONY READER
IREX ILIAD 2ND ED.
TOUCH 2.0 PRS-500
Could you access e-book using device?
YES = 21/25 (84%) YES = 0/25 (0%) YES = 0/25 (0%) YES = 0/25 (0%)
NO = 4/25 (16%) NO = 25/25 (100%) NO = 25/25 (100%) NO = 25/25 (100%)
Could you use an additional method to access
YES = 6/25 (24%) YES = 6/25 (24%) YES = 6/25 (24%) YES = 6/25 (24%)
Yale licensed e-books on the device (for
NO = 16/25 (64%) NO = 16/25 (64%) NO = 16/25 (64%) NO = 16/25 (64%)
instance: bookmark, email, download, copy, or
N/A = 3/25 (12%) N/A = 3/25 (12%) N/A = 3/25 (12%) N/A = 3/25 (12%)
other)?
What was the format type? HTML = 10/25 (40%) HTML = 10/25 (40%) HTML = 10/25 (40%) HTML = 10/25 (40%)
HTML/PDF = 4/25 HTML/PDF = 4/25 HTML/PDF = 4/25 HTML/PDF = 4/25
(16%) (16%) (16%) (16%)
PDF = 7/25 (28%) PDF = 7/25 (28%) PDF = 7/25 (28%) PDF = 7/25 (28%)
N/A = 4/25 (16%) N/A = 4/25 (16%) N/A = 4/25 (16%) N/A = 4/25 (16%)
Rate ability to access using following scale:
1. Able to access, but unreadable,
3/25 (12%) 0/25 (0%) 0/25 (0%) 0/25 (0%)
unusable
2. Able to access, may be readable,
2/25 (8%) 0/25 (0%) 0/25 (0%) 0/25 (0%)
difficult to view or navigate
3. Able to access, fairly readable, content
0/25 (0%) 0/25 (0%) 2/25 (8%) 2/25 (8%)
viewable
4. Able to access, overall readable, sized
1/25 (4%) 0/25 (0%) 2/25 (8%) 2/25 (8%)
to fit screen and can navigate without difficulty

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5. Able to access, very readable, very easy
16/25 (64%) 0/25 (0%) 10/25 (40%) 10/25 (40%)
to view content and navigate
[Blanks], n/a
3/25 (12%) 25/25 (100%) 11/25 (44%) 11/25 (44%)
IV. Next Steps
This test examined the ability to access to e-book collections of the Yale University Library
using four mobile devices. Each device used in this study has unique technological strengths and
weaknesses, and these should be investigated further in the context of enhancing access to
electronic collections at Yale. Next steps should include exploring the specialized applications
of the mobile devices based on the proficiencies of each device. For example, some devices may
be better suited than others to provide access to course reserve, interlibrary loan, reference,
and/or instruction materials. Also suggested is a consideration of alternative acquisition models
to facilitate on-demand downloads and circulation of the devices. Finally, a study on mobile
device use and preferences of the Yale Library community is highly recommended.
V. Conclusion
The advancement of mobile technology will have lasting impact on libraries as patrons
increasingly employ new mobile methods of accessing library collections. Studies such as this
one establish a critical baseline for the development of future services which will meet this
growing demand. At the Yale University Library, the volume of e-book collections more than
doubled over the last five years. There are presently more than 1,000,000 titles in the collection;
and this study indicates that 84%, or approximately 840,000 titles can be accessed using an

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Apple iPod Touch or iPhone. Likewise, 24%, or approximately 240,000 titles can be accessed
using the Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, and Amazon Kindle 2.0 (for a small file conversion fee per
title). Further research is recommended to obtain information about the types of mobile devices
prevalent on the Yale campus (as of the time of this study, statistics of this type were not being
gathered by the Yale ITS department); the mobile library preferences of the Yale University
Library community; and the usability of iPod Touch and iPhone as e-book readers.
Librarians at Yale and elsewhere must be proactive in exploring these technologies, identifying
the inherent opportunities, and developing the expertise to promote and facilitate access to e-
book collections via mobile devices. Just as we expertly deliver content and services across
format and function, we can demonstrate leadership by promoting mobile access to e-books at
Yale. In order to do so, we must continue to build knowledge locally, expand upon the research
herein, and take the risk of advocating for and implementing innovative and timely mobile
services which support and maximize access to our e-book collections.