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The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings from the qualitative strand of the National e‐Book Observatory (2007‐2009) project, relating to the promotion of e‐textbooks in UK universities by the library, academics and publishers. A complementary paper on the ways in which students and academics locate e‐books provided by their library will appear in a future issue.

Following the provision by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in the UK of collections of e‐textbooks, the project used deep log analysis, benchmark surveys and focus groups to develop a rich picture of library e‐collection management and use by students and academics. Focus groups were undertaken with library staff, academics and students; the dialogues were transcribed and analysed using NVivo7 software.

The qualitative studies found that libraries were using a range of promotional tools, although these were not always finding their targets. Often libraries had no formal promotion strategy for e‐resources. Although little in evidence, the value of academic commitment and promotion was emphasised. Promotion by publishers and aggregators is both to libraries and directly to academic staff. Students felt that they were largely unaware of promotion beyond the presence of e‐books in the catalogue, and in some cases stated explicitly that they thought more should be done to promote library e‐resources to them.

The paper offers pragmatic guidance on promotional methodologies.

The project describes the first major, national usage study of e‐books in higher education. The paper contributes significantly to the literature in discussing the importance of promoting e‐books to students and staff.

Consensus is emerging that companies should be socially responsible although the nature and degree of responsibility continues to be the source of debate. This continued debate allows the buck to be passed. The paper aims to propose a shift in view from corporate social responsibility to corporate social performance (CSP) as a means to assess CSR policies and practices. A harmful product category was chosen to illustrate how corporate social performance using a consumer's point‐of‐view can be assessed.

Literature concerned with alcohol knowledge was used to design a survey to consider whether consumers were adequately informed about alcohol. A convenience sample was used to survey Australian adults. A total of 217 surveys were analysed.

Australian alcohol marketers are currently considered socially responsible promoting an “enjoy responsibly message” amongst many other policies and programs. A shift in view from corporate social responsibility to corporate social performance (CSP) would change the outcome. Consumers are not fully aware of safe consumption levels of alcohol and these data are consistent with US and UK studies. A shift in view would suggest that companies need to revise their policies and practices.

This study was based on a small convenience sample that varied slightly from the Australian population. Future studies, on a larger scale, are required to ensure representativeness, while replication in other countries is encouraged.

To meet their social obligations, marketers must ensure consumers are armed with sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions. Consumers need to be able to distinguish between safe and risky alcohol consumption levels and they need to know the number of standard drinks/units in alcoholic beverages.

The paper shows that there is considerable room for improvement from key players in the Australian