Electronic books and the humanities: a survey at the University of Denver

Abstract

Purpose -To identify levels of awareness and patterns of usage of electronic books by scholars in the humanities. Design/methodology/approach -A survey of the University of Denver community assessed knowledge about and usage of electronic books. The results for humanists are presented here. Findings -Scholars in the humanities have a higher level of awareness of e-books than their colleagues across campus but use e-books at the same rate. Their patterns of use are different, with humanists using less of the e-book than do other groups. Humanists still prefer printed books to electronic texts at a higher rate than do other groups and care less about added features, such as searchability, than they do about content. Originality/value -Humanists conduct research differently than do most other scholars, using the library catalog and browsing as primary means of finding information, and valuing the book more than other resources. No previous research has assessed whether humanists have similarly unique patterns of usage for electronic books.

How E-books Are Used

“…He concludes, "clearly most users do not immerse themselves in electronic texts." 20 For Gregory, the "results suggest that students use e-books in a manner similar to how they use e-journals." 21 The study by Berg, Hoffman, and Dawson describes readers' treatment of e-books as "searching for discrete pieces of information."…”

Perspectives on E-books from Instructors and Students in the Social Sciences

“…51 Levine-Clark explored e-book use in the humanities. 52 While he found that "humanists (and social scientists) have a higher degree of awareness about electronic books than the rest of the university community," given their heavy reliance on the library catalog as part of their research process, this awareness did not translate to greater e-book use. 53 Finally, Nicholas, Rowlands, and Jamali examined e-book use among business and management students as part of the JISC National e-Book Observatory study, finding that "business students are major and significant users of e-books and e-textbooks and that they view them more frequently, spend longer viewing them, [and] view more of them."…”

Factors Influencing the Usage of an Electronic Book Collection: Size of the E-book Collection, the Student Population, and the Faculty Population

“…The addition of bibliographic records for each e-book has been demonstrated to significantly increase use. 7 Faculty and, particularly, graduate students rely heavily upon the library's catalogue to locate and access ebooks. 8 Some libraries have even observed a doubling in usage.…”