Abstract
PurposeThis paper aims to provide a snapshot of student and staff attitudes towards e‐books, collected through a web‐based survey, as well as an analysis of use data for a specific universe of e‐books provided via a patron‐driven purchasing model and accessed during the survey timeframe.Design/methodology/approachThis research analyzed survey responses collected from May 2010 to December 2010 and use data for the universe of e‐books made accessible via PDA, and used by library patrons, during this period.FindingsE‐books are no longer a new phenomenon and the CSU Libraries have provided access to e‐books for many years, yet users' prior experience with e‐books, perspectives on desirable and undesirable e‐book characteristics, and preferences for print versus e‐books as provided by the libraries continue to vary. During the libraries' initial entry into PDA, e‐books made accessible to users via this model received more use through browsing than sustained use or download, but relatively little use overall. The study provides a starting point for the continued analysis of this library's PDA program, now the primary mechanism used to provide its academic user community with book access.Practical implicationsThe authors present a review of the literature and research findings about academic users' interactions with, and preferences for, e‐books. They provide a point‐in‐time analysis of user interactions with e‐book titles made accessible via the libraries' PDA program and a subject‐level study of the use of these titles.Originality/valueThis paper presents point‐of‐use feedback regarding e‐books, from academic users, and detailed information about e‐book titles accessed via a PDA model.
Published Version
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