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Successful Take-up of E-books at the University of Portsmouth. Anne Worden Faculty Librarian: Humanities and Social Sciences February 2012. Background. Trial of networked e-books began in 2004 Since 2005 use of e-books at Portsmouth has increased by over 1000%
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Successful Take-up of E-books at the University of Portsmouth Anne Worden Faculty Librarian: Humanities and Social Sciences February 2012
Background • Trial of networked e-books began in 2004 • Since 2005 use of e-books at Portsmouth has increased by over 1000% • Number of e-books increased from 15,000 to 75,000 • Books from Ebrary, MyiLibrary, DawsonEra • UoP has the highest use of e-books in the UK
How often do you use e-books? Frequency of use by percentage
Where do you access e-books? 48% of HSS & 51% of Tech studentsresponding access e-books mostly or only at home
How do you normally read info from e-books? 67% of HSS & 72% of Tech students responding read e-books only on screen
Female More frequent use of e-books More likely to find e-books via catalogue than male students Higher percentage find e-books very useful for their course More put off by technology Male Less aware of e-books More likely to find out about e-books via lecturers than female students Higher percentage only read e-books on-screen Slightly higher percentage indicate they read more as a result of e-books Is there a gender difference?
Student Views – Advantages 1 They’re great because you can access them from home Politics Yr 2 So useful especially if it’s a book everyone on the course needs and there are not enough hard copies Languages Yr 4 Really convenient to use Languages Yr 1 It is easy to bookmark pages and highlight so that you can go back to research easily Eng Lit Yr 3 Great – really useful, especially when all books in library on loan Childhood Yr 2
Student Views – Advantages 2 E-books are easier to flick through to find the right chapters relevant to assignment Languages Yr 2 The word search is very useful and often saves time reading irrelevant pagesSociol Yr 3 Brilliant, life saver! Extremely useful and easy to use Eng Lit Yr 3 Copy and paste saves a lot of time when using quotes in any essay Languages Yr 2 You don’t have to pay fines!! Languages Yr 4
Given a choice, I would prefer to use: 59% of HSS & 44% of Tech students responding would prefer to use a printed book
Discriminating consumers • For reading a novel, I would have a printed version, but for research and other I would use an e-book Eng Lit Yr 1 • Prefer printed books for long articles, e-book for short references Eng Lit Yr 2 • For reading I prefer printed copies. For extracting quotes, e-books are better Politics Yr 1 • Large books are better to read from paper copy - foreign language sources are easier to read from paper copy Languages Yr 2 • Whether it’s for pleasure or research Eng Lit Yr 1
Views from medics • University of Pittsburgh survey of around 1000 • 86% of interns, residents & fellows used e-books to support clinical care • Preference for print for textbooks & manuals • Preference for e-books for research protocols, pharmaceutical & reference books Folb, B. et al. (2011). Clinical and academic use of electronic and print books: the Health Sciences Library System e-book study at the University of Pittsburgh. Jnl of the Medical Library Association, 99(3), 218-228
Top student concerns re e-books • More e-books should be made available • “Would be even more useful if there was more available on Ebrary” Languages Yr 1 • “It would be nice if crucial resources were made available in electronic format” Languages MA • Printing should be cheaper • “Can’t afford to keep printing” Sociol Yr 2 • Computer access should be easier • “Constant computer access problems” Languages Yr 2 • “I find it a lot harder to access Ebrary at home and it often takes ages to load up” Sociol Yr 2
Top 10 UoP Ebrary books accessed • 70,131 Sage dictionary of criminology • 34,669 Biosocial Criminology : New Directions In Theory • 26,254 Contemporary Leadership Theories • 20,857 Future Savvy : Identifying Trends to Make Better Decisions & Manage Uncertainty • 19,464 Constitutional and Administrative Law • 19,099 Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry • 18,009 How to Price : A Guide to Pricing Techniques and Yield Management • 17,205 Doing Your Research Project : A Guide for First- Time Researchers in Education • 17,123 Introduction to Early Modern English • 15,174 Afghanistan : How the West Lost Its Way
Top UoP science e-books accessed (Ebrary) • 4,154 (No.80) Challenges in colorectal cancer • 3,940 (No.89) Integrated coastal & ocean management • 3,457 (No.98) Soil mechanics • 1,566 (No.281) Olympic encyclopedia of sports medicine • 1,554 (No.283) Clinical periodontology & implant dentistry • In other subjects 27 e-books had results over 10,000
Top UoP science e-books accessed (MyiLibrary) • 10,769 (No.3) Drug delivery & targeting for pharmacists • 1,124 (No.74) Sports development: policy process & practice • 437 (No.167) Food, nutrition & sports performance • In other subjects 4 e-books had results over 10,000
Why is use so high at Portsmouth? • Sheer number of e-books available • Students value convenience of e-books • Copy+paste & word searching tools assist students who are short of time • Increased no. of students but lack of space and money to increase no. of multiple copies • E-books give fair access to all, regardless of how late they leave it to look • Promotion of e-books by lecturers & librarians
Top Tips • Get to influential people first • Run sessions showing how easy e-books are • Make sure the books are integrated into the catalogue • Buy to meet particular needs