E-book Usage Research Articles

Graduate students’ e-book awareness and usage at a public research university in the USA

PurposeThis study aims to understand the level of graduate students’ awareness and usage of e-books purchased by the authors’ university library since the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors created a Qualtrics survey with 13 questions that was sent to the university’s graduate student email list. The survey was sent in the fall of 2023 and was open for one month. The list had 3,318 subscribers; 113 complete responses were received, for a response rate of 3.4%.FindingsThe results found that doctoral students (80%) are more aware than master’s students (64%) of e-book availability through the library, and usage rates are higher for doctoral students (78%) compared to master’s students (52%). In addition, the frequency of e-book usage since COVID-19 has changed, with more than half of respondents using e-books more often. The majority of respondents who use e-books do so because they are required as a textbook. While international students use their laptop or smartphone for reading e-books, domestic students prefer laptops. Student comments at the end of the survey revealed ways for libraries to help improve e-book awareness.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ goal to have a response rate of 5%–10% was not achieved; the authors therefore did not use any statistics to measure the significance of the results. The survey did not ask whether students started their degree programs prior to 2020, but their start year could have influenced responses.Originality/valueThe present study looks at the current level of usage and awareness of specific populations (graduate students, online students and international students) regarding e-books. This study focuses on student perspectives regarding what devices they use to access e-books and how their usage differs across academic disciplines.

Barriers preventing the optimal use of e-books: A South African undergraduate perspective

Background: South African academic libraries are spending large amounts of money annually to provide users access to e-books. In many of the South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) undergraduate students form the largest part of the institutional cohort. It is therefore crucial to understand what factors influence the optimal use of e-books by undergraduate students and what possible interventions can be applied to ensure optimum use.Objectives: This article aims to identify the main factors that prevent the optimal use of e-books by undergraduate students at a South African university.Method: For this study, pragmatism was used as the philosophical paradigm, with sequential mixed methods using questionnaires and focus groups.Results: The findings of this study revealed that while e-books can be regarded as an accepted source of information among undergraduate students, there are still several barriers impacting the optimal use of e-books by undergraduate students.Conclusion: This study identified five significant barriers that negatively influence the optimal use of e-books and provides possible solutions to improve the usage of e-books.Contribution: The results of this study will contribute towards the lack of information available on the usage of e-books in the South African context.

A STUDY ON ANALYSIS OF READERS EXPERIENCE TOWARDS E-BOOK

The shift towards digital reading platforms has significantly transformed the landscape of reading habits worldwide. This study delves into the analysis of readers experiences towards e-books, aiming to provide insights into the evolving preferences and challenges faced by readers in the digital era. Through a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, this research explores various dimensions of readers interactions with e-books, including their perceptions of convenience, usability, content engagement, and emotional satisfaction. The findings reveal nuanced perspectives on the advantages and limitations of e-books, shedding light on factors influencing reader preferences such as device compatibility, interface design, reading environment, and personal preferences. Additionally, the study examines the impact of demographic variables such as age, gender, and reading habits on e-book usage patterns. By comprehensively analyzing readers experiences, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving dynamics between readers and digital reading platforms, offering valuable insights for publishers, educators, and technologists seeking to enhance the e-book reading experience. KEYWORDS: E-books, Readers Experience, Digital Reading, User Preferences, Usability, Convenience, Content Engagement, Emotional Satisfaction, Device Compatibility, Interface Design, Reading Habits

IJCM_147A: Awareness and Practices related to the use of e-books among medical college students in Mangalore

Background: Reading is a vital aspect of the learning process for students and should be encouraged. Any effort or innovation that improves the motivation of students to read is worth sustaining. The materials often used are textbooks and reference materials. This study aimed to assess the readership and preference for e-books and print books across contexts. In addition, this study aims to identify factors that contribute to e-book usage. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among MBBS students of KMC Mangalore. A Semi-structured questionnaire which contained demographics, knowledge, practices and awareness of the use of e-books was used for data collection. The collected data was analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Results were expressed as proportions and for comparison across groups, the Chi-square test was used. A ‘p’ value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the total 422 participants, 53.7%(n=226) were females the main source of awareness for 243 participants (57.7%) was internet, followed by friends for 119 participants (28.2%). Overall, 44.7% (n=188) wanted e-books to be implemented in their curriculum. A higher proportion,62.6% (n=263) prefer to study from printed textbooks during the exam time. Also, the main challenges while using e-books were eye soreness/redness (60.6%) followed by difficulty reading from the device (56.6%). Conclusion: Overall, there was a high level of awareness among the study subjects about e-books. There was no significant difference across the genders for usage patterns and awareness. Mostly the use of ebooks was for textbooks and reference articles.

Scope and limitations of library metrics for the assessment of ebook usage: COUNTER R5 and link resolver

Abstract Data are at the heart of electronic resource management in academic libraries. Assessing the usage data of electronic resources has become a prevalent approach to demonstrate the value of digital collections, justify library expenditures, and gain insights into how users interact with library materials. This study analyzes the usage statistics of electronic books (ebooks) generated locally by the OpenURL link resolver in an academic library, and statistics collected by platform vendors based on Release 5 of the Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resource (COUNTER R5). Three content provider platforms (Cambridge Core, EBSCOhost, and ScienceDirect) were analyzed as data sources. The COUNTER and link resolver statistics were examined to determine the degree of association between these two metrics. The Spearman correlation coefficient was moderate (rs > 0.561 and < 0.678) and statistically significant (p < .01). This suggests that these metrics capture different aspects of the usage of ebooks in different contexts. Other factors, such as the types of access to electronic resources and the units of content delivered, were also examined. The study concludes with a discussion regarding the scope and limitations of link resolver and COUNTER R5 as library metrics for measuring the usage of ebooks.

Determinants of E-books Usage of Undergraduates; With Special Reference to Faculty of Commerce and Managment Studies, University of Kelaniya

When learning merges with technology, it creates an e-learning environment. Such environments integrate with software applications and create e-books for the beneficiaries who register with the system. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of e-book usage by Undergraduates in the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. Three hundred thirty-five undergraduates from the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, were used as the sample. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire distributed via a google form. Version 23.0 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The mean score and standard deviation for each variable were utilized for univariate analysis, and the correlation coefficient was employed for bivariate analysis. The regression and Sobel tests were used to test the hypotheses. The results revealed a significant impact of Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness on E-book usage that has been significantly mediated by Behavioural Intention to Use. These findings have consequences for educators and instructional methodologists, who must balance the benefits of new learning technology with the realities of student perceptions and use.

Research Institute Scientists E-Books Usage in India: A Study

ABSTRACT The study is all about using e-books by scientists in research institutes in India. To identify gender-wise usage of e-books by scientists, to understand the purchase and usage of e-books and e-resources, to observe the way of access and usage to e-books, to understand the frequency of the usage of e-books, to detect the type of problems faced by scientists while accessing e-books and to know the reasons for not attending the training program/orientation on using e-resources. The questionnaire method was used to gather the data. An entire 860 questionnaires were distributed, and 700 filled questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 81.39%. The study results show that the maximum number of respondents are male (59.15%) scientists, and 65.7% of RRI scientists use to purchase and use e-books. A maximum number of scientists access e-books purchased by their research institute. 52.8% of scientists feel that many e-books could be more beneficial for their research. More than 50% of scientists feel they need no training to access e-books. It is very clear from the study that research institute libraries must subscribe to e-books useful to their scientists.

Open Standards, Open Infrastructures, and Author Inclusion: Transitioning to Open eBook Usage Data

Open Standards, Open Infrastructures, and Author Inclusion: Transitioning to Open eBook Usage Data

전자책 구독서비스의 지속사용의도에 관한 연구

This study started with the aim of examining ways to invigorate e-book subscription services. Unlike simple content-driven paper books, e-books influence users’ usability due to various factors, such as applications that drive digital content. In this aspect, this study is intended to identify the e-book users’ intention for continuous use of e-books and investigate the ways to expand the e-book subscription services. To this end, the information system success model, value-based acceptance model (VAM), and innovation resistance factor were analyzed. According to the results, information quality (recency and completeness of content) and system quality (system stability and availability) were found to be the important factors in the continuous intention to use e-books. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of new economic models like e-book subscription services and what users can perceive as useful through media uses. Meanwhile, innovation resistance factors should be lowered by the steady development of factors that can increase perceived usefulness to increase the continuous intention to use e-book subscription services. Hopefully, the results of this study will be useful data for the plans to revitalize e-books and establish the strategies as the factors necessary for e-book subscription services.

The Effects of Covid-19 on Libraries

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected higher education and cultural sector, including libraries. Most of the libraries in Mongolia were physically closed for patrons. Librarians were suddenly tasked moving from in-person service into online and the Covid-19 pandemic affects policies, strategies, activities, behavior itself and the library’s future development strategy was not considering the effect of Covid-19. The aim of this paper is to explore how Mongolian libraries satisfy the need of their patrons in unexpected situation, such as Covid-19-induced transition to adapt to keep afloat, to identify the main issues that have arisen and make recommendations for the betterment of libraries’ role in such situations. To be more specific, we address the following research questions: To what extend Covid-19 affected library daily activities? Will the library service styles, perspectives, strategies, patrons’, and librarian’ attitudes change in the future? To address the research issues a quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used on a dataset created from a questionnaire survey and interviews from librarians and patrons. The aim was to find out whether libraries can meet patrons’ needs and if the staff is fully paid. Besides, the analysis covered such criteria as printed and e-book usage, internal and external online databases, other library services usage during the pandemic period, and positive and negative impact of Covid-19. The results were then compared to the indicators of the pre-Covid-19 period.

The effectiveness of e-book in learning process

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of e-books in the last three years and to analyze what types of e-books are most appropriate for current learning. The methodology used is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Articles related to the use of e-books from 2020-2022 were searched through the published or perish article search application that focuses on Scopus-indexed articles. The results obtained indicate that the existence of e-books is still widely used to support students to obtain even better learning outcomes. Although several studies have found no significant difference between the use of e-books and regular printed books, the results also show that e-book users got higher learning outcomes. For now, the use of interactive e-books is the most effective e-book of other types, considering that this type of e-book has been tested on users of various ages and different educational backgrounds, with different subjects and different places of implementation.

Perception and Awareness Towards Usage of E-Books (A Study with Reference to Students in Thane City)

Books are the most vital source of knowledge diffusion, personality development, and for leisure reading. In present-days, e-books have gained incredible acceptance due to numerous recompenses associated with it. E-resources too are now a fragment of every academic and research library. The study aims to understand the perception and awareness of students towards usage of e-books. It also attempts to understand the relationship between variable like gender, age, Area of Discipline level of course and Frequency of using E-books & Purpose of Usage of E-books. Demographic and other pertinent facts have been collected through a well-structured questionnaire and the chi-square test has been applied for analysis. The result of analysis, decipher that most of the students prefer e-books for the completion of assignments due to convenience of its usage, affordability and 24x7 accessibility. Some disadvantages associated with e-books use were: Difficult to read, eye strain, Costly and Compulsory smart device and Internet. The finding of this study will be useful to academic libraries and stakeholders to build closer communication with students to address their need in e-books assortment and to impart the skills for locating and using e-books and thus the study would contribute in development of composed and apposite library resources.

Do you love them now? Use and non-use of academic ebooks a decade later

This survey of graduate students' and faculty's use and non-use of ebooks is a follow-up to the data captured in 2011 from the same mid-sized public university in southeast Texas. In addition to providing a change comparison of faculty and graduate students' ebooks usage over the past decade, the study also aims to contribute to the growing ebook literature examining faculty and graduate students' perception and use of ebooks for different academic activities. Survey results showed that while the proportion of respondents who are library ebook users had increased significantly over the past decade, both ebook users and non-users' attitude towards e- and print books remained consistent. Most ebook users appreciated features such as keyword searches and copy and pasting, but the majority also valued the option to print out pages and chapters. Respondents' format preferences also shifted based on their academic needs, although some of the feature limitations that prompted some users to switch from or avoid library ebooks were caused by DRM restrictions that could be removed by publishers. The findings have implications beyond the institution for academic library ebook acquisition and communication with local user populations. Other marketing and future research implications of the findings are also discussed.

How research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books led to planning a joint approach to e-book policy and practice across UK and Ireland healthcare libraries.

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e-books in the NHS are, what they are using e-books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e-books to inform policy and practice.

전자책 이용자의 기본심리욕구가 지각된 유용성과 지각된 이용용이성을 통해 이용의도에 미치는 영향

The e-book market has continued to grow as the supply of smart devices has expanded. This study verified the effect of basic psychological needs of e-book users on their use intention through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. As a result of the study, first, it was found that autonomy did not have a positive effect on perceived usefulness, but had a positive effect on perceived ease of use. Second, it was found that competence had a positive effect on perceived usefulness, but did not have a positive effect on perceived ease of use. Third, it was found that the relationship had a positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Fourth, it was found that perceived usefulness had a positive effect on the use intention. Fifth, it was found that perceived ease of use had a positive effect on perceived usefulness. Sixth, it was found that perceived ease of use did not have a positive effect on the use intention. For the e-book market to continuously develop, it is necessary to look at the functional aspect of the service and the psychological aspect of users organizationally.

Analysis of Students' Mastery of Basic Physics Concepts in Lectures Using E-Books

The use of teaching materials has many benefits for students, one of which is to make it easier for students to find information and assist in mastering concepts. This pre-experimental study aims to describe students' mastery of Basic Physics concepts in lectures using e-books. The subjects of this study consisted of all students taking Basic Physics courses at the Biology Education Study Program, University of Mataram, with a total of 27 students. The research was conducted in 7 meetings, starting from October 24 2022 to December 5 2022. The concepts studied consisted of: Static Fluid, Dynamic Fluid, Vibration and Waves, Temperature and Heat. Student concept mastery data was obtained from giving essay tests at the 8th meeting. The level of mastery of the concept is divided into 8 grades namely A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, E. Students are declared to have passed if they get grade C, with levels of mastery of concepts ranging from 65 to less than 70. The results showed that the grades the lowest is 66.2 (grade C), while the highest is 91.5 (grade A). The average value of concept mastery is 77.8 (grade B). Thus, it can be concluded that the percentage of students' concept mastery who obtain a pass grade of 100%. The use of e-books can be an alternative teaching material that can be used by lecturers and students in an all-digital era. E-book users can access anytime and anywhere

Exploring the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) of Factors Influencing E-book Usage among CCA Students in the Philippines

Early adopters of e-books claimed that e-books encouraged reading, and served as a means of improving individual academic performance. This appears to be unnoticed by academics in the Philippines. Objectives: The primary goal of this work is to conduct a study reporting the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) of factors influencing e-book usage among students and robustness of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Design: The TAM criteria were used to design an online questionnaire survey focusing on the usefulness, ease of use perception, and attitude toward addressing the hypotheses to the structural equation model for using e-books. The questionnaire’s validity was confirmed by four specialists. The participants are undergraduates at City College of Angeles, Philippines. A total of 348 responses was analyze with aids of SmartPLS version 3.3.2. Results show that these four factors are related to each other and have a strong influence on e-book usage and adoption. Also indicated that perceived usefulness (PU) is the most significant and perceived ease of use (PEU) indicated the least supported. A total 65% variance explained, SRMR 0.08 NFI above 0.9 and RMS_theta 0.12 achieved. Ultimately, a thorough analysis of the study is recommended for future researchers.

Библиотеки Монголии: влияние пандемии Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected higher education and cultural sector, including libraries. The majority of the libraries in Mongolia were physically closed for patrons. Librarians were suddenly tasked moving from in‑person service into online and the Covid-19 pandemic affects policies, strategies, activities, behaviors itself and the library’s future development strategy was not taking into account the effect of Covid-19. The aim of this paper is to explore how Mongolian libraries satisfy the need of their patrons in unexpected situation, such as Covid-19-induced transition to adapt to keep afloat, to identify the main issues that have arisen and make recommendations for the betterment of libraries’ role in such situations. To be more specific, we address the following research questions: To what extend the Covid-19 affected the library daily activities? Do the library service style, perspectives, strategies, patrons and librarian attitudes change in the future? To address the research questions a quantitative and qualitative content analysis approach was used on a dataset created from questionnaire survey and interviews from librarians and patrons. We studied whether the library could response patrons’ needs, the staff is fully paid or not, printed and e-book usage, internal and external online databases, positive and negative impacts of Covid-19 and other library services during pandemic period and compared them to the indicators with pre-Covid-19 period.

Evidence-Based Acquisition at Hacettepe University Libraries

To determine the most suitable acquisition model, or to decide whether or not the model they have already chosen is functioning efficiently and economically, librarians must carry out relevant evaluations of their current or potential acquisition models. In this study, an evaluation of the Cambridge evidence-based acquisition (EBA), was carried out at Hacettepe University Libraries between December 16, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Within the scope of the EBA, the number of e-books opened for access was 35,624, the number of unique books used was 2,462 and the number of the books purchased at the end of the model was 168. In total, the books were used 36,934 times. Ninety-three percent of the books were never used during the EBA model implementation term. While 52 percent of the books opened for access consisted of “books for research,” 47 percent of the number of unique books used consisted of “coursebooks.” Usage cost per unit was calculated as 0.82 USD, and the average book cost was calculated at 180 USD. Purchasing the books based on their list price was a reason for the high average book cost; nevertheless, one should consider that the entire collection of books was open for access for a year-long period of evaluation. In addition, one should not forget that further usage of e-books from the entire collection would decrease the unit cost of the books in the final purchase. During the implementation term, we observed that the Cambridge EBA Model was a suitable option for Hacettepe University Libraries.

E-Book Mobile Application: A Case of Kabale University Mukombe Library, Uganda

Globally, many academic e-books are available in user-friendly forms like PDF and HTML that can be accessed on laptops, iPads, and smartphones, even though some e-books require a special e-book reader. However, university students find it difficult to access e-books because some of the university libraries have few computers that hold the downloaded e-books, which are stored in a folder, and little effort has been made as a result; there is low usage of e-books. The project’s goal was to investigate how e-book applications work and how students at Kabale University can access e-books via mobile phone or tablet. The objectives of the project were to investigate the existing e-books application, design and develop the e-books application, and test and validate the developed application that enables students at Kabale University to access e-books simultaneously. The literature review helped me read a number of pieces of literature about e-book applications. They were information sources about the E-books application such as the internet, books, journals, and newspapers, among others. The use of existing information from the library helped to develop a model to predict the E-book application and testing of the application using Android smartphones. It was concluded that the implementation of the e-book’s application was done using Android to enable users to access the books on their mobile phones or tablets. The study recommends that the administrator of the system should be taken through the tasks in order to be able to upload books ready for the application