A tale of three surveys: How librarians, faculty and students perceive and use electronic resources March 2009 © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Overview of ebrary e-book surveys Conducted Objective Completed by 2007 Global Librarian E-book Survey Spring 2007 Better understand e-book usage, purchase drivers and inhibitors, and digitization and distribution needs of libraries ~583 respondents 48% non-U.S. ~552 institutions 2007 Global Faculty E-book Survey Fall 2007 Better understand faculty experiences with e-resources and print materials ~906 respondents 43% non-U.S. ~300 institutions 2008 Global Student E-book Survey Spring 2008 Explore students’ usage, needs and perceptions regarding e-books ~6,492 respondents 67% non-U.S. ~400 institutions © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Adoption of e-books

Adoption of e-books 88% have access to e-books 45% have access to over 10,000 e-books If you interpret fair as good, then 78% of the respondents described e-book usage at their libraries as good to excellent If you interpret fair as not so good, 59% of respondents found e-book usage only fair to poor

Adoption of e-books (con’t) 89% of faculty say they use electronic resources for research, class preparation or instruction 64% integrate e-books into their courses 43% encourage students to use e-books in their research 31% use e-books in their own research or course preparation 29% use e-books as required course readings 51% of students say they use e-books For those who never use e-books, the most common reason was that they did not know where to find e-books

Drivers of e-book usage STUDENT VIEWPOINT How did you learn about e-books? LIBRARIAN VIEWPOINT What drives e-book usage? Librarians Library catalog (MARC records and OPAC integration) Library website or blog Professor and staff recommendation Google or other search engines Peers Word of mouth Marketing campaigns and materials Google and other search engines © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Drivers of e-book usage Students and librarians are basically in agreement except students see librarians as the major drivers of e-book usage. Librarians are a bit self-deprecating in their responses if they equated marketing campaigns and materials with their efforts. Library instruction efforts were not a choice in the survey, which librarians may have ranked higher.

Electronic resources used for academic purposes by students © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Electronic resources used for academic purposes by students Keep in mind that this is the 51% of the students that continued with the survey. Google is first place students look. The good news for e-books is that students like them once they have found them. E-books are just slightly behind search engines. E-journals are in 7th place after textbooks.

Electronic resources used for academic purposes by faculty © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Electronic resources used for academic purposes by faculty Just like the students, faculty rank websites 1st. Unlike students, faculty rank e-journals 2nd instead of 7th. And unlike students, faculty rank e-books 6th instead of 2nd. Again keep in mind that only students who use e-books (51%) and continued in the survey are being compared to all faculty in their survey

Electronic vs. print resource preference by students © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Electronic vs. print resource preference by faculty © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Electronic vs. print resource preference 83% of students who said they used e-books find it preferable to use an e-book over a print version Sometimes (32%) Often or very often (51%). 82% of faculty find electronic resources preferable to print Equally useful (32%) Preferable (50%)

Advantages of e-books - faculty What do faculty say are the advantages of electronic resources for their research or instruction? More accessible Anytime, anywhere Multi-user access More usable Easy to search and access Easy to share Ability to manipulate, use in Blackboard or other CMS Ability to highlight, annotate, bookmark, etc. Easy to print/download Easy to save and archive Less expensive Saves shelf space Cost-effective Good for environment © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Advantages of e-books - students What are the top statements students indicate as true for e-books? Environmentally friendly Anytime, anywhere access Easy to search and find info Easy to share Easy to store Good for quick reference Easy to browse Easy to use multiple documents at once Easy to organize Information is current Easy to print or photocopy Easy to cite Easy to use Clear graphics and images © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Features of e-books Which e-book features do students rate as “very important”? Searching: 87% Anytime access: 86% Off-campus access: 82% Multi-user access: 81% Downloading to laptop: 80% Copying and pasting: 75% Printing: 75% Zoom and scale: 65% Highlighting: 62% Automatic citations: 56% Ability to email text: 55% Book reviews: 45% Multimedia: 44% Ability to share notes: 44% Downloading to hand held device: 42% Collaborative tools: 40% Personal bookshelves: 38% Shared bookshelves: 30% Students selected “very important,” “somewhat important,” or “not important” for each item. © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Perceived advantages of e-books When asked about the advantages of e-books, both students and faculty indicated that e-books were More accessible, Easier to search Easier to use online When asked about the advantages of print books, faculty indicated that they were Easier to read Easier to find More portable

Purchase drivers © SkillSoft Corporation 2003

Purchase drivers for librarians The 4 top factors are interrelated Optimizing access Price Access model Curriculum dictates Subject Currency

Next Survey Should there be another survey? Who should we survey? We have done Librarians Faculty Students We have not done publishers What do we want to know?