Abstract
How students really use e-books is a subject of much interest to library professionals. This has particular relevance when it comes to selecting suppliers and e-book platforms for institutional use. The question of preferred formats (print versus digital) has been asked exhaustively, but technology develops fast and is here to stay in higher education, so a more pressing question is how we evaluate which platforms offer the best user experience for our students. At the University of Exeter we used our student Library Champion volunteers as a focus group, repeating the process over two years, to help determine which platforms were preferred. Champions examined multiple interfaces, but concentrated primarily on aggregators. They were encouraged to use their own laptops and tablets to access the e-books, which proved particularly valuable as it allowed interfaces to be rated for their compatibility across devices. Positive and negative feedback was collated, sent to providers and also used directly to inform and alter the Library’s purchasing preference list.
Highlights
Background to the Champions schemeThe Library Champions scheme at the University of Exeter has been running since 2011
The question of preferred formats has been asked exhaustively, but technology develops fast and is here to stay in higher education, so a more pressing question is how we evaluate which platforms offer the best user experience for our students
At the University of Exeter we used our student Library Champion volunteers as a focus group, repeating the process over two years, to help determine which platforms were preferred
Summary
The Library Champions scheme at the University of Exeter has been running since 2011. The Champions have a budget to spend on library resources and have a fixed timescale in which to spend it. They are expected to consult their peers on what to get, and to respond to student requests sent directly to them. More details on the scheme and how it was set up can be found in a previous article.[1]. Initial figures on the Champions’ spend this year show a decreasing tendency to favour print, with 70% of purchases in print format and 30% in digital format (as of mid March 2016), whereas in 2015 only 18% of the total budget was spent on e-books by the Champions’ spend deadline
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