PALO ALTO, Calif.--()--Students in the United Kingdom who recently participated in ebrary’s Global Student E-book Survey reported a greater preference for digital over printed books and higher usage than their global counterparts in a similar survey conducted in 2011. When asked how often they would choose e-books over printed books, 58% of UK students stated they would “very often” to “often” choose the digital version if it were available compared to 48% of global respondents. Over 85% of UK students indicated they use e-books up to 10 hours per week and only 10% stated that they never use e-books. In contrast, 52% of global participants indicated they use e-books up to 10 hours per week, and another 46% stated they never use e-books. Approximately 5% of UK students indicated they use e-books more than 10 hours per week compared to 2% of global respondents.
Additionally, more than 80% of UK students reported that their awareness of digital resources is good to excellent, compared to less than 69% of global participants. Only 6% of UK students indicated they did not know their libraries offered e-books compared to 38% of global respondents.
“ebrary was surprised to see such a variation of results in the UK,” said Kevin Sayar, President and General Manager of ebrary. “One explanation may be that UK students know when they are using digital books, whereas other students may mistake e-books for online journals or other formats. It is also possible that UK librarians are doing more in terms of e-book training and promotion. We are excited to work with participating libraries, both in the UK and abroad, to dive deeply into this data and develop and share insights and best practices.”
The 2011 Global Student E-book Survey was created by librarians and sponsored by ebrary®, a ProQuest business. More than 6,300 students from academic institutions around the world participated in the informal study. Additional data will be forthcoming from approximately two hundred students who recently completed the survey in The University of Nottingham, University of Portsmouth, Coventry University, and The University of Central Lancashire.
At the UCL E-Books and E-Content event on May 10, ebrary will be presenting the UK-specific results and how they compare to the 2011 findings as well as a similar survey conducted in 2008. Anyone may register to receive a complimentary copy of the presentation by registering at http://www.tfaforms.com/243949. The 2011 Global Student E-book Survey and other studies sponsored by ebrary are available at http://site.ebrary.com/lib/surveys.
About ebrary (www.ebrary.com)
ebrary helps customers acquire e-books strategically through a three step approach: Transition, Diversify and Streamline™. The company believes that by challenging the e-book status quo, organizations can effectively serve the diverse and growing needs of researchers and maximize their budgets. Founded in 1999, long before e-books were popular, ebrary is a ProQuest business located in Palo Alto, CA, USA.