Medical undergraduate students’ perception towards the use and non-use of e-books: a case from Pakistan
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-08-2017-0040 |
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Pages | 32-38 |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| Author | Sadaf Rafiq,Nosheen Fatima Warraich |
Medical undergraduate students’perception
towards the use and non-use of e-books: a case
from Pakistan
Sadaf Rafiq
Department of Library, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan, and
Nosheen Fatima Warraich
Department of Information Management, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of medical undergraduate students regarding their behavior towards use and non-
use of e-books. It also elucidates their preferences between print and electronic book format.
Design/methodology/approach –It is a quantitative study based on survey method. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data
from final year medical students of three medical colleges of Lahore, Pakistan. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse 232
useable questionnaires.
Findings –The findings indicate that the use and non-use of e-books is almost equal among students. The students who use e-books mostly access
them through Google books, and they used e-books for academic purpose. Users were convinced about the benefits of e-books such as easy access,
24/7 availability and up-to-date information. However, users and non-users of e-books preferred to use printed version of books. Non-users
identified that e-books often distract them because of different links on the website, and they do not want to change their habit of reading printed
books. Moreover, they are satisfied with printed books available in their libraries and hesitant to read on screen.
Research limitations/implications –The present study is limited to the medical sciences; its results cannot be generalizing to other academic
disciplines.
Practical implications –The findings of the study will assist the medical libraries to improve their e-books collection and also negotiate the
publishers for its licence issues. The study will also encourage the librarians to acquire handheld devices and load them with e-books for their users.
Originality/value –This is believed to be the first study on the use of e-books in the perspective of medical students in Pakistan.
Keywords Pakistan, E-books
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
With the passage of time, libraries are transformed from four
concrete walls to the knowledgearena by providing access to e-
sources. In the past few years, pretensionsof libraries increased
access to information have brought them to embrace the
electronic books (e-books). Convictions of Connaway and
Snyder (2005) are jottedas:
[...]the electronic book is a conundrum. It is loved. It is hated. Sometimes,
the lover and the hater are the same person. The e-book is an innovation
that is purported to replace the printed book into a beloved and
romanticized technology.
The initial developedpace in field of e-books took place in 1971
with the invention of Project Gutenberg. Dr Michael S. Hart
was the pioneer of this project. He digitalised the United State
Declaration of Independence that later is acknowledged as the
first e-book in the world. As the internet became more
widespread in the late 1980’s, the e-books technology spread
around the world (Chen, 2003). NetLibrary possessed a
revolutionary step to sell out e-books to libraries and
information centresin 1999, and it was designed to support the
libraries lending practices. NetLibrary had the digital right
management system that providedcopyright protected e-books
to the thousands of users (Young,2001). Instead of becoming a
success, NetLibrary was bankrupted because of the investors’
claims of exaggerated revenue projections in 2011. Online
Computer Library Center (OCLC) saved NetLibrary from
bankruptcy by purchasing it. Then, it was sold to EBSCO
Corporation which renamed it as eBooks by EBSCO
(Oder, 2010). However, the revolutionary work of NetLibrary
opened the gate for publishers and let out the new trends for
them. They continued to publish books in both print and
electronic form. Many renowned publishers entered into thee-
book market, and several universitylibraries also extended their
budget to purchasee-books.
Miller (2011) explained that almost 95 per cent academic
libraries facilitated the readers, writers and users access to e-
books. Furthermore, Jirat (2011) also interpreted that the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
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Collection and Curation
38/2 (2019) 32–38
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-08-2017-0040]
Received 25 August 2017
Revised 24 February 2018
Accepted 13 April 2018
32
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