E-books usage by agricultural, engineering and social science students in selected universities of Pakistan. An empirical assessment
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-08-2015-0163 |
| Pages | 958-973 |
| Published date | 07 November 2016 |
| Date | 07 November 2016 |
| Author | Amjid Khan,Rubina Bhatti,Asad Khan |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
E-books usage by agricultural,
engineering and social science
students in selected universities
of Pakistan
An empirical assessment
Amjid Khan
Department of Pharmacy, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
Rubina Bhatti
Department of Library and Information Science,
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, and
Asad Khan
Department of Library and Information Science, University of Peshawar,
Peshawar, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the usage patterns of e-books among the students
of social, agricultural, and engineering sciences; demonstrate how e-books are used by students for
various purposes; explore the main reasons for using e-books; and uncover the major issues being
encountered by students while using e-books in Pakistani Universities.
Design/methodology/approach – During May to July 2014, a convenient sample technique was
adopted, and a close-ended questionnaire was used as a survey tool for 300 graduates (BSc honor) and
postgraduate (masters and MS) students in the age group of 21-60 years. In this study, the respondents’
gender, age, educational level and major disciplines were individual contextual variables. The data
collection process was successfully completed with a 100 per cent response rate. SPSS-19 was utilized
for testing the reliability of the instrument, as well as descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square
test).
Findings – The results show that the adoption of e-books has reached a level where they have
become an integral component of academic library services. The results of this study verify the
previous ndings that the students are relying on e-book adoption for various academic and
research purposes. Comparatively, male students, postgraduate students and those between the
ages of 21 and 40 years are more frequently e-book users. In addition, the percentage of e-book
readership among engineering students on a “daily basis” is greater than the students of
agricultural and social sciences. They prefer reading e-books because of the following reasons: to
support research endeavors and improve academic performance; and the e-format is quick to read
and easy to manage. Insufcient e-contents, lack of personal computers and the variety of e-book
formats are the major constraints in the effective utilization of e-books for learning, education and
research needs. The study has concluded that e-books have a key role in the set-up of academic
libraries and information resources in Pakistan, though further development of e-book readership
capabilities and building of e-book collections are required to support users’ needs, and a parallel
investigation into their most effective usage is also required.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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EL
34,6
958
TheElectronic Library
Vol.34 No. 6, 2016
pp.958-973
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-08-2015-0163
Originality/value – This empirical research is a rst and unique study that systematically and
quantitatively compares the relationship between respondents’ e-books usage with their individual
contextual variables in the perspective of academic libraries in Pakistan.
Keywords Pakistan, E-books, Academic libraries, User studies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The concept behind the provision of electronic books (e-books) goes back to ideas
presented by Vannevar Bush in 1945. The basics came to realization in 1953, when the
Uniterm indexing system at US Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake, California,
was developed by Mortimer Taube (Bush, 1996). The concept of an e-book was
advanced in 1970, when Michael Hart started a project known as “Gutenberg” to store,
retrieve, search and access information via computer. This project used an electronic
version of printed books that enabled scholars to utilize online tools for learning,
publication and communication with geographically dispersed communities (Lancaster,
1985,1999). In terms of the contemporary signicance of e-books, academic libraries
have drastically increased the acquisition of e-content (Chen, 2011;Shelburne, 2009) and
affecting the use of printed books (Hernon et al., 2007;Liu, 2006;Wilson et al., 2014).
Previous research established numerous advantageous ndings of the e-book format,
such as cost effectiveness, minimizing space usage, retrieval issues, ensuring remote
accessibility, content management and customization and so forth (Woody et al., 2010).
In addition, Shill and Tonner (2003) suggested that, over the next 100 years, library
buildings will gradually disappear, and the portable e-book will drive the nail into the
collective cofns of academic libraries.
Despite the fact that e-books are an effective design that supports learning,
organizational innovations and exibility of use (Embong et al., 2012;Gorghiu et al.,
2011), the format has proven unpopular among students (Daniel and Woody, 2013). It is
known that e-book adoption is still prevalent in developed countries (Bailey, 2006;
Christianson and Aucoin, 2005;Daniel and Woody, 2013;Hernon et al., 2007;Liu, 2006;
Shelburne, 2009;Slater, 2009;Woody et al., 2010). There are fewer studies reporting this
rising issue from the perspective of developing countries (Anuradha and Usha, 2006;
Gorghiu et al., 2011;Kang et al., 2009). Researchers, such as Slater (2009), have suggested
that further research is required to explore the dynamics behind the unpopularity of
e-book usage by students.
In the Pakistani context, research is limited to the usage of e-books and digital
information resources. Limited Pakistani studies have examined the usability of
e-resources, such as Raq and Ameen (2012), and emphasized the need to utilize digital
resources in university libraries. Similarly, Khan and Ahmed (2013) reported on the
impact of a digital library collection on research productivity in Pakistan. Mirza and
Mahmood (2012) and Bhatti and Hanif (2013) also examined user satisfaction with
e-resources and services in Pakistan. No research has been undertaken on student use of
e-books in Pakistan. The current study is signicant in terms of promoting e-readership
among students, e-book collection development in academic libraries and diminishing
the gap between publishing priorities and user needs regarding various aspects of
e-books. Thus, in terms of Pakistan academic libraries, the present study has the
following research objectives:
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E-books usage
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