Publishers determine which of their publications will be categorised as eTextbooks, and can introduce a range of limitation or restrictions around their sale that are not necessarily applied to other eBooks. For example:
- Many eTextbooks cannot be purchased by the Library for multiple users, even when they are available for sale to individuals.
- There can be restrictions around the number of simultaneous users that can access an eTextbook.
- Content in eTextbooks purchased by the Library cannot be 'personalised' for individual users.
The Library looks to purchase or license eTextbooks that are required for university teaching and learning in a similar way to print textbooks.
Although we actively campaign to improve existing eTextbook access models, the Library is not currently resourced to provide either individual textbooks or eTextbooks for all students. Our current Collection Plan enables us to focus on building a strong collection with a comprehensive range of quality resources in all areas of University education and research.