{"id":124321,"date":"2021-03-16T09:24:35","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T08:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=124321"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:29","slug":"buying-e-books-during-covid-has-cost-eur-hundreds-of-thousands-extra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/03\/16\/buying-e-books-during-covid-has-cost-eur-hundreds-of-thousands-extra\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying e-books during Covid has cost EUR hundreds of thousands extra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past year, EUR\u2019s University Library (UL) spent an additional 300,000 euros on its book collection and Open Access \u2013 among other things because it saw itself forced to buy expensive e-book licences for a lot of textbooks. This raised expenditure by around 6 per cent. What\u2019s more: actually procuring these digital versions wasn\u2019t always easy. From the very start of the lockdown in March 2020, it was \u2018all hands on deck\u2019, says the UL\u2019s faculty liaison Frea Haandrikman.<\/p>\n

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This week, it was exactly one year ago that the library \u2013 like so many other locations \u2013 had to close up more or less overnight. \u201cThis applied to our study areas and the loans desk, but also to ESSB\u2019s study section and the ISS library,\u201d remembers Haandrikman. She is faculty liaison, in which role she serves as the link between the two faculties and the UL. Her portfolio includes the International Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague and Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Studies (ESSB).<\/p>\n

\u2018Book doesn\u2019t leave the building\u2019<\/h2>
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Frea Haandrikman<\/span><\/p>

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In problem-based degree programmes like Law and the Social Sciences, students commonly don\u2019t have to buy all their own textbooks. They consult them in their faculty\u2019s study landscape. \u201cSometimes all they need to do is photocopy a few pages; sometimes they finish their assignment on the spot. At any rate, the book doesn\u2019t leave the building.\u201d But then, the study landscape was suddenly closed until further notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe checked whether we could buy digital versions of specific books \u2013 which is more complicated than you may assume. It\u2019s a very different story for universities than it is for consumers. To start, it\u2019s a lot more expensive for us: the e-book version of a reference work that normally costs 80 euros can quickly run up to as much as 250. And even then, in many cases it may only be read by one to three users.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haandrikman needs to estimate beforehand what kind of licence is in order. \u201cMy rule of thumb is that when you have a group of 30 students, the licence has to allow at least 5 people to access the same book at the same time. That means that students need to coordinate with each other when they intend to read the book in question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not listed<\/h2>

What\u2019s more, in some cases the licence terms aren\u2019t immediately clear. \u201cIt\u2019s relatively straightforward with major publishers like Cambridge and Oxford, but in the case of Dutch publishers, the licence terms often aren\u2019t listed in the system. Which means you have to get in touch with them to find out. This was a particular issue for Erasmus School of Law: this faculty almost exclusively relies on Dutch textbooks. And the same applied to a lesser degree for the Psychology programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another factor that came into play is that EUR does not want licences to be restricted to students enrolled in specific courses. \u201cAs the University Library, we serve the entire university community, which means that every student should be able to access every publication in our collection. Some licences became very expensive as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Own book <\/h2>

Read more<\/h2>