As libraries and publications across the country move away from their reliance on print resources, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library is making efforts to stay on the cutting edge of technology in libraries. By the end of October, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) will add 117,000 full e-textbooks to its catalogue as part of a free pilot program funded by the Massachusetts Library System (MLS). Fifty libraries in Massachusetts are part of the trial period of the e-book access program, which gives libraries subscriptions to e-book providers. MLS hopes to expand the program to libraries in the entire state. This state-funded effort is only a part of the OWHL’s attempts to digitize its collection. Over the past few years, the OWHL has slowed down its acquisition of print materials, instead focusing on increasing its e-text collection. With the new program, the e-texts in the OWHL will vastly outnumber the printed copies. By the end of October, there will be a total of 287,000 e-texts and only 120,000 print books. Buying the print format of books requires the library to buy book by book. However, while buying e-texts, the library usually purchases licenses for entire collections, allowing the library’s budget to stretch further. “Our library is very lucky. We are well supported, and we are in some ways a leader. It is appropriate for us to participate in things that might help all the libraries in this state,” said Elisabeth Tully, Director of the OWHL. Students can currently borrow laptops, Kindles, iPod Nanos, Nooks and iPads. In addition, the library subscribes to a service called Overdrive, which allows students to download e-books and audio to their own devices. The library’s digital transformation began in 1991, when the OWHL transitioned from a physical card catalog to a digital catalog. In 2001, the library stopped subscribing to academic journals in print, and started buying access to large databases of journals, such as JSTOR and project MUSE. “We began to acquire full text electronic reference products very early into the 2000s. As they became available, we bought them and kept the print copies so that we had them available when we needed them,” Tully said. In 2006, with the onset of WiFi, the library started loaning out laptops for student access, as it was one of the first buildings on campus to have WiFi access. The OWHL bought its first subscription to e-books in 2010, through the company e-brary, making it one of the first high schools with an e-book subscription. The library continued its e-book integration in 2011 by creating QR-codes for reference books to connect the physical copies with their e-book counterparts. “It’s really cool because if there’s a four volume set and you can’t find volume three and you really need it, you can take a picture of that code which will take you right to the book,” said Kathrine Aydelott, Instructional Librarian. As e-texts and internet resources grow, the role of OWHL librarians has evolved to include helping students navigate the abundance of electronic resources, said Tully. “At the help desk, we’re now trying to direct students to more effective ways to research. So, if we find something more appropriate, in a better way and more comprehensive, we’ll direct them to that because it’s much easier for them than having to go through the 80 databases of information,” said Sharon Pei, Instructional Librarian. The OWHL hopes the new e-texts will help students access information for research projects more efficiently, as they allow the reader to easily search the entire book for a certain phrase or concept without having to read the entirety of it. Tully envisions even more changes for the library in the coming years, including a potential “iPad vending machine” that allows students to borrow iPads by swiping his or her BlueCard.
