Updated in light of feedback received from a preview version released in September, this report is a primer to help academic librarians, managers, and members of faculty respond effectively as ebooks become mainstream and the percentage of academic publications delivered as ebooks rises steadily.

The report aims to support the adoption of ebooks by:

• introducing the historical and present context of ebooks
• reviewing the basics of ebook technologies
• considering scenarios for ebook adoption and usage
• addressing current challenges
• considering future developments.

Published by JISC Observatory and written by commissioned author James Clay (Gloucestershire College) with production editing and project management provided by UKOLN Innovation Support Centre, this is the fourth in a series of TechWatch reports published since 2011.

A community consultation process was undertaken by the project to develop the framework, including workshops and mini case studies.  The result of that process is now captured in a draft of the framework and you are invited to comment on the white paper through the A.nnotate system. The A.nnotate system supports interactive commenting, and the paper can be navigated through the page index which appears after hovering with the mouse underneath the pdf link at the top left.

Further information about the Community Capability Model Framework is available from the Project Web site.

The Toolkit consists of two tools: the KRDS Benefits Framework (Tool 1); and the Value-chain and Benefits Impact tool (Tool 2). Each tool consists of a detailed guide and worksheet(s). Both tools have drawn on partner case studies and previous work on benefits and impact for digital curation/preservation. This experience has provided a series of common examples of generic benefits that are employed in both tools for users to modify or add to as required.

The KRDS Benefits Framework (Tool 1) is the “entry-level” tool requiring less experience and effort to implement and can be used as a stand-alone tool in many tasks. It can also be the starting point and provide input to the use of the Value-chain and Impact analysis.

The Value-chain and Benefits Impact analysis (Tool 2) is the more advanced tool in the Toolkit and requires more experience and effort to implement. It is likely to be most useful in a smaller sub-set of longer-term and intensive activities such as evaluation and strategic planning.

The combined Toolkit provides a very flexible set of tools, worksheets, and lists of examples of generic benefits and potential metrics. These are available for use in different combinations appropriate to needs and level of expertise.

Guides for the toolkit and each individual tool and case studies of completed examples of the worksheets provide documentation and support for your own implementation. They are also available from the Project Web site.

This is a fine piece of comprehensive research work. If you’re an AR developer or content guy, you’re gonna want a printout of this lying around, so you can brandish it at people. You’ll look like you know what you’re talking about!

Comments on the report are invited until Friday 6 May 2011. After that the final version of the report will be released.

The Infrastructure for Integration in Structural Sciences (I2S2) Project is identifying requirements for a data-driven research infrastructure in ‘Structural Science’, focusing primarily on the domains of Chemistry and Crystallography. A key aim of I2S2 has been to develop use cases that examine the business processes of research, identify the costs and benefits of the integrated approach proposed by I2S2, and explore perspectives of ‘scale and complexity’ and ‘research discipline’ throughout the data lifecycle. During the course of the project, the complementary but often different perspectives of researchers and central facilities in terms of benefits were also recognised as significant and built into the use cases.
The I2S2 Cost/Benefit Use Case 1 (National Crystallography Service) traverses administrative boundaries between institutions and addresses issues of scale (local lab to mid-range national facility to national Diamond synchrotron) and provides a central service perspective of benefits. I2S2 Cost/Benefit Use Case 2 (Prof Martin Dove, University of Cambridge) applies the approach to Mineral Sciences and interactions between individuals, collaborative research groups and facilities, and provides a researcher’s perspective of benefits.

Each use case forms the source material for the Benefits Case Studies contributed by the project to the Managing Research Data Programme Benefits Synthesis Report.