Exploring the fit of e-books to the needs of medical academics in Australia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which e-books fit the needs of medical academics of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the performance of their academic tasks. Design/methodology/approach – A web-based survey was distributed to all UNSW academics in medicine, and 224 completed responses were analyzed according to the attributes of a task-technology fit (TTF) model developed for e-books in academic settings. Findings – Although the UNSW Library had access to > 225,000 e-books, usage by medical academics was relatively low (38 per cent); however, most (92 per cent) predicted that they would be using e-books within the next five years. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) had portable devices including smartphones, and 90 per cent rated the ability to search across full text in an e-book of moderate-to-high importance. Research tasks dominated the use of e-books, and 71 per cent agreed that e-books helped improve their overall productivity. Research limitation/implications – Only 224 (8 per cent) of 2,790 medical academics at UNSW participated in the study. The low response rate and over-representation of research only academics limit the extent of generalization of the findings. Originality/value – This is the first study on the use of e-books among academics in the Faculty of Medicine – comprising nearly 64 per cent of all UNSW academic staff. The findings highlight the extent of e-books used by medical academics and their enthusiasm for access to digital resources. There is also the suggestion that the library must continue to develop services to ensure delivery of task-compatible e-books to medical academics in increasingly mobile environments.