The major stumbling block inhibiting more patrons from using e-books is lack of awareness, a survey of 552 libraries conducted by the e-book vendor ebrary found.
The results “confirmed what is happening,” said Allen Mickiel, director of libraries at Northeastern State University, who did an analysis of the findings at ebrary's request. Many students, out of the 77% of respondents who were surveyed at academic libraries, “don't know e-books exist,” Mickiel said.
The message of the survey for ebrary president Kevin Sayar is the need to increase the profile of e-books by improving training and tools, something Mickiel agreed with. Improved search capabilities and a comprehensive index would go a long way toward boosting e-book usage at academic libraries, Mickiel said.
Library e-Book Survey
| SOURCE: EBRARY | |
| Top drivers of e-book usage | |
| 1. | MARC records and OPAC integration |
| 2. | Professor and staff recommendations |
| 3. | Position on library Web site |
| Top problems inhibiting e-book usage | |
| 1. | Lack of awareness |
| 2. | Difficult-to-use platforms |
| 3. | Difficult to read |
| 4. | Lack of training |
| Top vendors that buy or subscribe to e-books | |
| 1. | NetLibrary |
| 2. | ebrary |
| 3. | Safari |
| 4. | Books24x7 |
| 5. | MyiLibrary |
| 6. | Ebook Library |
| Top business models for acquiring e-books | |
| 1. | Purchase |
| 2. | Subscription |
| Top reasons to subscribe to electronic database | |
| 1. | Price |
| 2. | Depth of collection/subject area |
| 3. | Method of access |
| Top reasons to buy an e-book | |
| 1. | Price |
| 2. | Subject |
| 3. | Method of access |
| Percentage of libraries digitizing content | |
| Active: 32% | |
| Considering: 24 | |
| Not considering: 44 | |
| Type of content digitized | |
| 1. | Special collections |
| 2. | Images/photos |
| 3. | Theses and dissertations |
