PROVIDING MORE BOOKS RATHER THAN INVESTING IN EBOOKS AND EJOURNALS FOR THE LIBRARY

Dzubaiddy B. Mohamad Ramli

830614035877001
Abstract
In this new modern digital era, the use of information communication technology (ICT)
has been growing rapidly through approval plans, e-book packages, and electronic
demand-driven acquisitions (W. Julie et. al., 2014). The context of the study is an action
research that will further investigate the issues raised in this report using data analysis
and qualitative methods. The survey was distributed via e-mail to 100 employees of Elearning company. The survey included questions focused on print book use, e-book use,
format preferences, and demographics. A majority of 70 respondents indicated a
preference for print books. The survey indicated a continuing need to purchase books in
print.

Introduction
Books have been used since man discover the way to make paper. Without hesitation,
they do plays a fundamental role in humans history. Books give a thorough overview of
a topic and its quality are checked by the publishers. Besides that, books are commonly
well-researched and the references to other sources are embodied. Furthermore, they are
portable as readers can dip in and out as needed. There is no limitations as to the numbers
of books with the same title that library users can borrow in a day.
Questions about the probable differences in how users discover and use e-books as
compared to print books is raised and the library users book format preferences is
employed through questionnaires. The aim of the study is to distinguish the problems
identified in using e-books and e-journals in libraries. Thus, the result of this study will
aid other libraries in deciding to invest either in print books or e-books.

Review of Related Literature

E-book is a book composed in or converted to digital format for display on a computer
screen or hand held device (Merriam Webster). Cambridge define e-book as a book that is
published in electronic form, for example on the Internet or on a disk, and not printed on
paper.
According to Sara Rosso (2009) in her article on advantages and disadvantages of
electronic books, e-books are not quite famous due to these three categories, which are
tactile loss, lending loss, and library loss. She believes the tactile loss argument is the
most obvious and passionate argument readers have but the least serious technologically.
E-books is a format-device game and there is no way to load in electronic versions of
paper books that the readers already own. It is unlike the mp3 which gives you the
freedom of downloading any mp3 files from other sources and create your own CDs.
Lending loss is the readers are not able to lend their books with their friends or other
people. E-book sellers determined to keep readers from sharing their e-books. Besides
that, there is so many formats for e-books. Consumers are forced to make a decision
about where to get the content and which format to buy it in.
Sara Rosso states, underlying all of this is the major problem of DRM - Digital
Rights Management. That is the risk everyone is taking now buying formats that are tied
to specific devices, or even a particular format in general. Almost all major books are
being released with some DRM attached to them. Some format providers are seeing the
benefit of being separate from a device, and are offering cross-compatibility on several
devices.
Paul Oliver (2012) states that it isnt readers that have problem with e-books at
libraries. Much of the argument is centred around DRM use.
There are many copyright issues involved that have made it difficult to provide
patrons with everything they want, he points out. For example, there are several

publishing companies that are currently refusing to sell electronic versions of their titles
for library use. HarperCollins will sell e-books to libraries, but they set a limit that their
titles can only circulate 26 times.
(Ohio Times-Reporter)
Daniel Goldstein (2015) supported the above issue as he stated ...but there is a
fundamental difference between digitized versions of physical books and born-digital
books. While the former move us closer to the anyone,anytime,anywhere future, the
economics of the latter are pushing us in the opposite direction, toward a future in which
access to digitally published titles is restricted and provisional. Where digitized e-books
are owned by libraries, born-digital e-books are almost always only licensed from either
the publisher or a third-party vendor, not purchased outright.
He also write in his article, Cautions on E-books, there is a separate problem
associated with the practise of licensing, not purchasing e-books. The perpetual access
model assumes that the publisher or vendor of the title is a stable, financially secure
corporation that possesses the expertise to write - or at least vet - complex legal
instruments and has invested in whatever backup mechanisms are needed to provide
satisfactory assurances of access, perpetual or otherwise. However, there are ever
increasing numbers of small, individual, and ephemeral publishing outlets that lack the
resources to meet library standards.
Consequently, libraries are simply unable to acquire the e-books produced by a
growing segment of the publishing industry. These truly pose challenges to libraries
abilities to operate effectively, protect their patrons and meet their needs, and acquire the
books they need at a reasonable cost.
Linda McMaken (2012) in her article E-books Vs. Print Books concluded five cons
of e-books which are an e-reader must be recharge, some screens are not easily readable
in sunlight, they can cause eye-strain, all digital data has a shelf-life, and book piracy
where they are more easy to be copied and distributed and the author receives no pay.

Emily Marcum (2012) in her article The Cognitive Disadvantages of E-books

states the findings of Andrew Dillons 1992 paper, Reading from paper versus screens: a
critical review of the empirical literature, reading text onscreen takes 20 to 30 percent
more time than reading text on paper. She also writes about an article in TIME Magazine,
Do E-Books Make it Harder to Remember What You Just Read?. They reported that
people are less likely to remember information read on e-readers than information read on
paper. Part of this recall deficit can be explained by the fact that smaller screens hinder
recall. The smaller the screen, the bigger the recall deficit is. Therefore, cell phones are
notoriously difficult for our memories. Larger screens, such as iPad screens, are better for
memory but not as good as a print book.
She writes that print readers can digest information more deeply and more quickly
than e-book readers. This is due to print books provide a vast of spatial associations with
the text. Contrary to e-books that provide little in the way of spatial associations.

Methodology
An email invitation to participate in the survey was distributed to 100 employees of Elearning Company which consists of 50 females and 50 males. The body of the email
included a printable form to the questionnaires. They were given a period of two weeks to
answer the questionnaires and email their responses to the researcher. People who had not
used e-books before were not asked for their opinion.
Encouragingly, the profile of those who completed the survey is not distort when the
researcher consider their gender. The survey consisted of questions focused on print book
use, preference for print or e-books, and demographics. Questions on print book use
included how often they were used, the portion of a book typically read, sources for
identifying print books, and purposes for their use. The questions on e-book use
incorporated how often they were used, what allocation was typically read, sources for
identifying e-books, factors which dampen their use, advantages of electronic format, and
disadvantages of electronic format. Respondents were asked whether they favored e-

books or print books.demographic questions asked respondents to identify their

connection to E-learning Company (managers, supervisors, clerks).
The survey as delivered on e-mail to the employees is included as the Appendix.

Survey Findings
Survey forms were e-mailed to 100 managers, supervisors, and clerks of E-learning
Company. The division of responses by status was 20% managers, 30% supervisors, and
50% clerks.

Usage of Print Books

About 40% of respondents indicated print books are used weekly or daily, 35% monthly,
and 25% rarely or never with never 5%. 3% of the never was indicated by managers
while 2% by supervisors. If a print book is used, about 20% indicated a chapter or less is
consulted, 30% indicated two to three chapters, with more than 45% using more than
three chapters or the whole book.
How do our users identify print books to read? Respondents could choose multiple
sources including the library catalog, databases, Google, publishers websites, online
bookstores, and more (Figure 1). The in-person library visit is used the most to identify
print books, followed by colleagues, bookstores, and Google. Some of the major
differences in responses between managers and clerks included a higher in-person library
visit by clerks (25% vs. 6%) whereas managers indicated a higher usage of databases,
online bookstores, and citations in identifying print books.

Figure 1: Identification of books between print and electronic.

Use of e-books
Similar questions were asked pertaining the use of electronic books. About 15% of
respondents access e-books daily, 20% weekly, 30% monthly, and a much higher
percentage (35%) rarely or never use e-books (Figure 2). As to the allocation of an ebook used, a higher percentage (40%) consult two to three chapters, 35% one chapter or
less, and 25% use more than three chapters or the whole book (Figure 3). Google (70%)
edged out the library catalog (20%) in locating e-books. Both Google Scholar and
publishers websites receives more than 50% response. As with the identification of ebooks, managers used the library catalog more than clerks to locate e-books (50% to
10%).

Figure 2: The usage of print books.

Figure 3: The portion of usage books and e-books.

What devices are used to read e-books? 60% of the respondents use mobile phone
followed by 20% on desktop or laptop. 15% of them use an e-book reader and 5% print
out portions to read (Figure 4). E-books are used mainly for the purpose of research and

reference with both take 60%. Instruction (35%) and leisure (40%) received significant
tallies (Figure 5). More managers (10%) use e-book readers or tablets to read e-books
than do clerks (8%).

Figure 4: Medium used to read e-book.

Figure 5: The purpose to use e-book.

Preferences
The questions of most interest was, Do you prefer e-books or print books? 60% of the
respondents prefer print while 40% prefer electronic. 5% of managers, 15% of
supervisors, and 20% of clerks preferred e-books while 15% of managers and
supervisors, and 30% of clerks preferred print books.
The questions What discourages you from using e-books?, the respondents could
choose multiple options in response to the questions. 70% of them choose preference for
print books and limitations on copying and printing. 60% selectrd difficulty finding them
and 10% selected not aware that e-books are available.
70% indicated difficult or uncomfortable to read on a screen in response to the
questions What are the disadvantages of e-books?. 60% selected limitations on printing
and copying, technical difficulties, and require a computer or other device to read as the
disadvantages of using e-books.
The e-book format does have its own advantages. 75% of the respondents agreed that
available from anywhere at any time is the major advantage. Full text search capability
was the second (70%) followed by e-books being environmentally friendly (66%).

Discussion
More respondents (70%) preferred print books to e-books (30%). E-books clearly
compare very unfavourably with print books for perceived ease of reading. The hard copy
is favoured in terms of ease of reading and ability to flip pages. One compelling lines of
inquiry opened up by this survey is the notion that book discovery behaviour is highly
patterned and that readers may use different underlying methods at different times to
meet different kinds of information need. This could give considerable connotation for
publishers, booksellers, and even libraries.
Given the varieties of respondents with each preference, the library would do well to

incorporate more books than electronic books. Ideally the user of the book should resolve
the format. However, this will constraints the library budgetary as electronic books and
journals costs more.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Many library users still prefer print over electronic. However, managers tended to prefer
e-books more than print. One explanation for this difference may be their workload that
hinder them the luxury of visiting the library in person and time constraints. Libraries
should provide more books for their users as most of them feel at ease when reading and
holding a book physically. They should ease off on their suggestions for operating in the
e-book marketplace as it is expensive.

Appendix
Thank you for participating in this short survey. Your feedback is consequential to us and
will enable us to better align library book purchases with your preferences.
The information obtained from this study will help us better understand the use of print
and e-books by employees in the company. Your name will not be associated in any way
with the research findings.
When completing the survey please consider your use of print and e-books for the
purposes of research, teaching or study.
SECTION I
1.

How often do you use print books?

A. Never
B. Rarely
C. Monthly
D. Weekly
E. Daily
SECTION II

2.

When you use a print book what allocation of it do you typically read?
A. 1 chapter or less
B. 1 chapter
C. 2 - 3 chapters
D. More than 3 chapters but less than the whole book
E. The whole book

3.

What sources do you use to identify print books you want to read? (Circle all that
apply)

4.

A.

Companys online catalog

B.

Databases

C.

Google

D.

Google Scholar

E.

Publishers websites

F.

Online bookstore (e.g. Amazon.com)

G.

Bookstores

H.

Companys library (in-person visit)

I.

Colleagues

J.

Citations

K.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

How often do you use e-books?

A.

Never

B.

Rarely

C.

Daily

D.

Weekly

E.

Monthly
SECTION III

5.

6.

When you use an e-book what allocation of it do you typically read?

A.

1 chapter or less

B.

1 chapter

C.

2 - 3 chapters

D.

More than 3 chapters but less than the whole book

E.

The whole book

How do you primarily read e-books?

7.

8.

9.

A.

Print out

B.

Desktop or laptop

C.

E-book reader or tablet

D.

Mobile phone

E.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

What sources do you use to find e-books you want to read? (Circle all that apply)
A.

Companys online catalog

B.

Databases

C.

Google

D.

Google Scholar

E.

Publishers websites

F.

Online bookstore (e.g. Amazon.com)

G.

Bookstores

H.

Companys library (in-person visit)

I.

Colleagues

J.

Citations

K.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

For what purposes have you used e-books? (Circle all that apply)
A.

Research

B.

Instruction

C.

Reference

D.

Leisure

E.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

Do you prefer e-books or print books?

A.

E-books

B.

Print books

C.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

10. What discourages you from using e-books? (Circle all that apply)
A.

Not aware that e-books are available

B.

Relevant e-books are not available

C.

Difficulty finding them

D.

Difficulty using interface

E.

Limitations on copying and printing

F.

Insufficient training in how to use them

G.

Preference for print books

H.

Limitations for viewing images, graphs, and illustrations

I.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

11. What are the advantages of e-books? (Circle all that apply)
A.

Available from anywhere at any time

B.

Full-text search capability

C.

Ability to make annotations

D.

Cut and paste capabilities

E.

Ability to save to desktop

F.

Ability to print

G.

Environmentally friendly

H.

More efficient

I.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

12. What are the disadvantages of e-books? (Circle all that apply)
A.

Difficult or uncomfortable to read on a screen

B.

Difficult to find

C.

Difficult to browse

D.

Difficult to navigate

E.

Limitations on printing and copying

F.

Some vendors require creating on profile in order to fully utilize content

G.

Technical difficulties

H.

Require a computer or other device to read

I.

Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

13. What is your connections with E-learning Company?

A.

Manager

B.

Supervisor

C.

Clerk

14. Please share any additional comments you have about e-book or your use of print
books.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

(2712 words)

References
Danial Goldstein (2015). Cautions on E-books. http://www.insidehighered.com
Elena Maceviviute, Martin Borg, Ramune Kuzminiene, & Katie Konrad (2014). The
acquisition of e-books in the libraries of the Swedish higher education institutions.
Information Research Journal, Vol. 19 No.2.
Ian Rowlands et. al. (2007). What do faculty and students really think about e-books?.
University College London.
Linda McMaken (2012). E-Books Vs. Print Books. http://www.investopedia.com
Paul Oliver (2012). The problem with ebooks and libraries is that there should be no
problem. http://www.mhpbooks.com
Sara Rosso (2009). What are ebooks? Advantages and Disadvantages of Electronic
Books. http://whenihavetime.com