Books right here right now at the university of Manchester library

Books Right Here Right Now is a strategic project to radically change core text provision at the University of Manchester. In order to investigate new models for electronic textbook delivery, the project team are running a series of e-Textbook pilots, providing textbooks directly to our students via the virtual learning environment. This paper focuses on how usage data and the views of our students and academic staff are underpinning the project in terms of acquisition models, negotiations with publishers and providing a new product to our students. Having detailed the project findings, the article concludes with the authors' thoughts on the changing environment of the e-Textbook market and the various issues within the existing models of e-Textbook provision, giving recommendations as to how academic libraries and publishers can help to shape a sustainable model for the UK.