Electronic Books at
Alfred University:
A Survey of Patron
Attitudes and Use
SUNYLA 2013
Ellen Bahr, Information Systems Librarian, Herrick Library
Fang Wan, Emerging Technologies/Engineering Librarian, Scholes Library
Brian Sullivan, Information Literacy Librarian, Herrick Library
Image: http://edu-news.ro/
Organization of presentation
• Survey background– Ellen
• Survey results – Fang
• Implications – Brian
• Discussion – All
Image: Wikimedia Commons (Alfred Hitchcock, Lifeboat, 1944)
About Alfred University
•A small, comprehensive university in Western New York
• ~2,000 undergrads, ~400 grads
•Herrick Memorial Library serves:
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• College of Professional Studies
•Scholes Library serves:
• New York State College of Ceramics (art and
engineering)
Declining emphasis on print collections
• Reductions in librarian staffing
• Flat materials budgets
• More distance education programs
• Decline in circulation
• Trend towards just-in-time collections
• New potential uses for library space
Image: Herrick Library
Alfred libraries acquisitions, 2002-2012
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
02-03
03-04
04-05
05-06
06-07
07-08
08-09
09-10
10-11
11-12
Increasing ebook offerings
• ebrary Academic Complete (~90,000 titles)
• ebrary PDA (~35,000 titles)
• eBooks on EBSCOhost (~10,000 titles)
• ebooks via database subscriptions
• Public domain books from the Internet Archive, HathiTrust,
Project Gutenberg, etc.
Testing the waters….
Ebook survey:
• Administered in March 2013
• Population size= 1207
• Completed surveys = 182
• 17% response rate
Image: massdistraction
What our patrons say…
“I do not like to use ebooks unless I
have to. I don’t think anything can
replace the simple pleasure of turning
pages, of old book smell, of just holding
a print book and reading it.“
Images: SpiritFire
What our patrons say…
“I am a bibliophile who loves
the physical feel of the book,
but the super convenience of
ebooks has converted me
almost completely. They allow
me to do research anywhere.”
Images: CollegeDegrees360
What our patrons say…
“Ebooks have advantages that traditional
books will never be able to surpass, such
as easy access and quick searching. I
think the AU libraries should move faster to
adopt the electronic format.”
Images: Ars Electronica
Survey
Results
Current use of ebooks
Devices
Most of the participants own or will purchase devices on which they can
read ebooks.
Q. Which of the following items do you currently own?
Cell phone
Smart phone
Desktop
Laptop
eReader
Tablet
None
Current use of ebooks
Access
High rate (51%) of participants don’t know they have access to ebooks
through AU libraries
Q. Did you know before taking this survey that you have access to e-books
through the Alfred University libraries?
Yes
No
Undergraduate Student
55%
45%
Graduate student
56%
44%
Faculty
44%
56%
Current use of ebooks
Overall use of ebooks
• 62% undergrads, 75% grads, 72% faculty used ebooks before
• 29% of all have never used an e-book
Q. Have you ever used an ebook?
Ebooks Vs. Print books
Prefer print books
In-depth or leisure reading
• Textbooks (71%)
• Scholarly books
• Entire book (62%)
(56%)
• Fiction (52%)
Prefer ebooks
Fragmental or quick reading
• Short passages from books (45%)
Difficulty of using ebooks
• Computer technology
• Habit of reading books in paper
Q. Please indicate your reasons for not using ebooks
A.
I prefer print books
B.
I don’t know how to use an
ebook
C.
I don’t know where to
access an ebook
D.
I don’t own or have access
to an ebook
E.
The books I want to read
are generally available only
in print
A
B
C
D
E
F
F.
Other
What do patrons want from ebooks?
Important features of ebooks
Tier 1:
• Search within full text(73%),
• Print portions of the book (60%),
• Download chapters(54%),
• Highlight & Annotate (54%).
Tier 2:
• Access (through search engine, library website, etc) (45%),
• Read on mobile device(32%)
Format of library collection?
 Will patrons be happy using a library with ONLY ebooks, or
ONLY print books, or a combination?
200
180
160
140
120
Disagree
100
Neutral
Agree
80
60
40
20
0
Print only
Ebooks only
Combination
Predicting
the Future
In 5 years, I expect that I will use…
15.38%
Equal combination
Mostly ebooks
14.84%
Mostly print books
60.44%
Can't predict
9.34%
Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians:
Scenarios for the Future of the Book
David J. Staley, May 2012
www.ala.org/acrl/files/issues/value/scenarios2012.pdf
Consensus
Ebooks make print books obsolete
Nostalgic
Print books remain in high demand; ebooks prove to be a fad/niche
Privatization of the Book
Ebooks dominate; print books become a niche for collectors
Printed Books Thrive
Ebooks and print books exist in balance and have equal importance
Most likely scenario
Ebooks dominate; print still
relevant
32.97%
Print and ebooks about
equal
49.45%
Ebooks replace print
Print books dominate
9.89%
7.69%
10,000 Maniacs vs. Rolling Stones
“You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need”
You Can’t Always Get What You Want, 1969
“Hey, give ‘em what they
want”
Candy Everybody Wants, 1992
Complex calculus of book acquisitions
Not just 1:1
Trade-off
Distance Education
To investigate further
Faculty opinions about student access
Past, future, and format
Web-based versus downloadable e-books
Image credits
http://ebookliterature.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/ebooks-vs-paper-books/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quixado/3133696318/lightbox/
http://www.alwaysontherun.net/10k.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rolling-stones/
http://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Mathematics/
http://www.examiner.com/article/critical-thinking-and-how-faith-can-lead-to-bad-decisions
http://www.kendii.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ebook.jpg
THANK YOU
Questions?