E-books in the Sciences: SLA 2009 Presentation

Abstract

The results of the e-book survey are summarized below. Details of the results are in the presentation. 1. High level of interest in e-books amongst graduate students: - Graduate students have used some form of e-book and are aware that the University subscribes to e-books - Many faculty members are not aware that the library subscribes to different e-book packages 2. Online reading behaviour and features desired: - Graduate students and faculty spend minimal time reading an e-book on the computer screen - Very important features required: Ability to copy, paste, print, & download and the capability to e-mail chapters. Citing, exporting to bibliographic management software, and highlighting searched text are some of the other important features desired 3. Some challenges: - Academic community not aware of the value-added features available in e-books - Complete MARC records from e-book publishers/content providers are required - Access/Digital Rights Management issues - Difficulty in reading from the screen