Awareness, use and attitudes of students towards e-books: differences based on gender, discipline and degree level
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-12-2020-0193 |
| Published date | 03 August 2021 |
| Date | 03 August 2021 |
| Pages | 449-467 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information in society,Information literacy,Library & information services |
| Author | Akira Jbeen,Shafiq Ur Rehman,Khalid Mahmood |
Awareness, use and attitudes of
students towards e-books:
differences based on gender,
discipline and degree level
Akira Jbeen
Deanship of Library Affairs, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University,
Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and
Shafiq Ur Rehman and Khalid Mahmood
Institute of Information Management, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study was to explore the levelof awareness, use and attitudes of students
regardinge-books.
Design/methodology/approach –This study used a quantitativeresearch design based on the survey
method. A structuredquestionnaire was designed and used for data collection from four different universities
of Pakistan. A total of 305 responseswere collected from a sample of 400, and 303 of those responses were
used for data analysis.
Findings –The results of this study indicatedthat students were aware of e-books and used them in their
daily lives. Most of the respondents had a positive attitude towards e-books and indicated that they
considered e-books are easy to find and support themin their assignments. Online features of e-books were
importantto them.There was a significant difference of opinionfound among students of different disciplines
regardingthe use of e-books.
Research limitations/implications –This study was limited to four disciplines in four universities,
one discipline per university. Therefore, its findings may not be applied to other universities or other
disciplines.
Practical implications –This paper offers a new idea to academic libraries related to purchasing
e-books. This study will provide guidelines to information professionals for development of their e-book
collection and implementation of innovative approaches in library services or e-books services to facilitate
their usersaccording to their need.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge,this is the first study on the level of awareness,
use and attitudesof university students towards e-books in Pakistan.
Keywords e-books, Attitudes towards e-books, Awareness of e-books, e-books-Pakistan,
Graduate and postgraduate students, Use-e-book
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Information and communication technologies (ICT) had an encouraging influence on
the quality of education being delivered in the 21st century. Libraries have universally
accepted the importance of e-books in the education sector, both for the students and
the teachers. They are fulfilling the information needs of their users through a variety
of e-book services. The premise behind providing e-books in libraries is to make
knowledge accessible to all users and to improve the overall quality of learning within
Awareness,
use and
attitudes
449
Received13 December 2020
Revised20 February 2021
24May 2021
Accepted17 June 2021
GlobalKnowledge, Memory and
Communication
Vol.71 No. 6/7, 2022
pp. 449-467
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9342
DOI 10.1108/GKMC-12-2020-0193
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9342.htm
universities. Electronic books make the learning process more interactive, cost-
effective, manoeuvrable, portable and ubiquitous in nature. According to Smyth and
Carlin (2012), ICT had made different ways of searching, browsing and disseminating
information. Consequently, universities have been forced to create new and novel
learning models to fulfil their users’needs in this technology driven era. Rao (2005)
opined that the introduction of e-books was the biggest revolution in the world of
literature since the Gutenberg. He represents easy mobility, a growing rate of digital
publishing or born digital content, improvement in the digital content in the form of
static, hypertext, interactive text, multimedia text, and so on and the constant
developing and reshaping of technologies.
García et al. (2010) described an e-bookas “any type of file in a digital formatthat can be
downloaded as such into an electronic device for its visualization.”E-book can be made
available on a computer, a reading device, a PC tablet, a mobile and so on. Similarly, the
contents of e-book can be presented in different files formatssuch as on PDF, HTML, XML,
ePUB and so on. Tsai et al. (2019) claimed that the ePUB3, an e-books-based flip blended
model, might attain more effectiveness in its preview feature, if teachers involved their
students during learningactivities.
According to Long (2003), even though libraries have adopted the e-book technology,
companies such as Net Library and Ebrary have demonstrated that further efforts are
required to enhance the use of e-books in libraries. Corlett-Rivera and Hackman (2014)
highlighted that librariescould increase the use and awareness of e-books through outreach
trainings and increased e-reader ownership.They also reported that library patrons tended
to use e-books for general as well as specialized reference material, citation manuals and
style guides.
In 2008, Amazon launched Kindle, its portable e-reader aimed much fanfare. Within a
year, Kindle managed to become a bestselling product on Amzaon.com, Amazon’s e-books
sales became higher than its print books (Allen, 2009).There has been an increased interest
in e-books ever since.
Fazackerley (2021) reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic, librarians have
been forced to tear up students’reading lists because of the publishers’“eye watering”
increase in the prices of e-textbooks. The pandemic has forced the students to study at
home. Consequently, they have had to resort to the e-book versions of their academic
books for their studies. However, the universities already struggling with financial
constraints have not been able to acquire the e-book versions of the print books they
had on their shelves. Academic publishers have failed to provide easily affordable and
accessible electronic versions of academic books. The author also reported that nearly
3,000 librarians, students and instructors had signed an open letter demanding a public
investigation into the unsustainability and inaccessibility of the academic e-books
market.
In Pakistani context, owing to COVID-19 almost all educational institutes and libraries
moved to remote working,and many universities, colleges and privateschools started online
classes through Zoom, MS Teams and other software. The information professionals are
also working from home and providing material in electronic format by email, social media
channels and virtual desk facility on websites. Different university libraries are trying to
purchase digital content to redesign theirlibraries in this crisis situation. For the provision
of 24/7 information, there is an immediate need to address some challenges such as lack of
staff competencies related to digital literacy, lack of funds, access management and
copyright issues. Furthermore, publiclibraries, colleges and school libraries are not playing
an effective role to facilitatetheir patrons through online and remote access. A positiveside
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