Mapping the Free Ebook Supply Chain - Michigan Publishing

"In February 2016, University of Michigan Press was awarded $28,000 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to conduct an evidence-based study of how free ebooks are discovered and used. The study is being conducted over the course of a year, between March 1, 2016 and February 28, 2017. Working with a diverse sample of around 120 free ebooks published by Open Book Publishers (OBP) and University of Michigan Press (UMP) along with Michigan-distributed titles published by Open Humanities Press (OHP) we are engaging in retrospective and prospective analysis using both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Technology pioneer Eric Hellman and his colleagues at the Free Ebook Foundation will lead the research, with support from Rebecca Welzenbach, Charles Watkinson, and Ken Varnum at University of Michigan, Rupert Gatti at Open Book Publishers, and Gary Hall at Open Humanities Press. In the retrospective analysis, we are examining every available quantitative source of usage data for the sample books that have been available for at least six months and are conducting semi-structured interviews with some key stakeholders to gather data about how the sample books were discovered and are being used. To facilitate prospective analysis, UMP and OBP are implementing a listening/assessment exercise by inserting a link to a web-based usage survey in the front matter of books that they publish starting in April 2016. Why is this project important? ..."