"But I Want a Real Book": An Investigation of Undergraduates' Usage and Attitudes toward Electronic Books

During the fall of 2004, the Head of Electronic Resources at the College of Mount St. Joseph's Archbishop Alter Library conducted a survey using a paper-based questionnaire and administered it to several randomly chosen undergraduate courses. The goal of the study was to investigate the college...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reference and user services quarterly 2008-04, Vol.47 (3), p.266-273
Main Author: Gregory, Cynthia L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Adult Basic Education
Adult students
Attitudes
Behavior
College libraries
College students
Colleges & universities
E-books
Educational Environment
Exact sciences and technology
Information and communication sciences
Information science. Documentation
Laptop computers
Libraries
Libraries and readers
Library and information science. General aspects
Library collections
Library resources
Literature
Mass media
Printing
Public opinion
Public services (Libraries)
Questionnaires
Reference books
Sciences and techniques of general use
Student Attitudes
Student surveys
Surveys
Technology application
Use and user studies. Information needs
User behaviour
Vendors
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Summary:During the fall of 2004, the Head of Electronic Resources at the College of Mount St. Joseph's Archbishop Alter Library conducted a survey using a paper-based questionnaire and administered it to several randomly chosen undergraduate courses. The goal of the study was to investigate the college's undergraduates' usage and attitudes toward electronic books. The study grew from the college librarians' informal observations of students' reactions, many times negative, to e-books over a four-year period. Results ran counter to what one might expect of undergraduates belonging to the Millennial or "net" generation. The findings show that students have mixed feelings about using e-books; students will use e-books but prefer using traditional print books. The study gives insight into where electronic and print media are in the current academic realm.
ISSN:1094-9054
2163-5242
DOI:10.5860/rusq.47n3.266