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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether aggregator packages might be appropriate to replace or supplement print collections in business and nursing, it aims to identify e‐book equivalents for print books acquired for an academic library's collections.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides a list of the library's acquisitions in two disciplines checked against e‐book aggregators' holdings. The comparison is analyzed and discussed.FindingsThe results confirm findings of a previous study showing that less than one‐third of print books acquired for this library's nursing and business collections have e‐book equivalents available from aggregators, so the aggregators' holdings do not strongly match the library's collecting profile.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study applies previous research to a different type of collection, and tests previous conclusions.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to assessment of the value of e‐book collections for academic libraries.

PurposeProposes encouraging librarians to be more informed about the value of collection evaluations.Design/methodology/approachThree examples of collection evaluation methods (user‐centered evaluation, physical assessment, and specific subject support) are explored.FindingsMany strategies are available for evaluating collections, regardless of the kind of library or size of the collection. Evaluation allows librarians a more thorough knowledge of what already exists, what may be needed, and whether collection development goals are being achieved.Practical implicationsMethods of meaningful collection evaluation are shared so that librarians may create an evaluation that will provide useful information to them in their library setting. Implications for successful future collection management, financial resource management, and effective format selection are discussed.Originality/valueDiscussion that includes the “assessment of specific subject support” and “assessing and building specific subject collections” encourages librarians to recognize their major and minor collections, creatively assess those collection areas, and involve techniques or individuals who might guide them to specific subject materials.