The Perceived Impact of E-books on Student Reading Practices: A Local Study

Julie Gilbert is Associate Professor & Academic Librarian, and Barbara Fister is Professor & Academic Librarian, in the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library at Gustavus Adolphus College; e-mail: jgilber2@ gustavus.edu, [email protected]. © 2015 Julie Gilbert and Barbara Fister, Attribution-NonCommercial (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) CC BY-NC This study investigates the perceived impact of future e-book collections on student research and recreational reading habits at our institution through three questions: how students currently use library print collections, how students use e-books, and how these factors impact student perception of the effects of future library e-books on their research and recreational reading behavior. Students express a fairly high interest in e-books, although not without raising significant concerns. While students appreciate the ease of access provided by e-books, many imagine that research would be more difficult using e-books. Results will help the library better evaluate e-book options and navigate possible issues related to implementation.