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This paper analyzes the availability, via both library lending licenses and open access, of digital versions of the monographs that professors recommend in online bachelor's degrees courses in social sciences at Spanish public universities. Monographs are the type of document most recommended by professors when it comes to teaching and learning in higher education. Digital format is most suitable for online degrees, considering the added effort entailed for libraries to get these documents owing to the geographic dispersion of the students. For this purpose, all the resources in the recommended reading section of the syllabi from a sample of online degree programs in social sciences for the 2022–2023 academic year were extracted. Then, the catalogs of the corresponding university libraries were consulted to check the availability of the monographs on the reading lists. In addition, the catalogs of the usual suppliers to Spanish university libraries were consulted to check the availability of lending licenses for libraries. Finally, types of digital lending platforms are analyzed. Monographs account for 85.6 % of the documents referenced in courses' recommended reading lists. Only 21.0 % of monographs are available in digital format, either through library lending (17.4 %) or open access (4.9 %). On the contrary, practically the entirety of reading lists is available for lending through university libraries in printed format. University libraries could make the effort to acquire even more digital lending licenses for a portion of the books recommended by professors, but in this way they could only obtain 40.9 % of the monographs in digital format. Therefore, the publishing industry is not currently meeting the needs of online university education in the social sciences, owing to a large part of its catalog – especially older works – not being offered in digital format as well as the lack of library lending licenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the widespread trend of e-book adoption by U.S. academic libraries, interlibrary loan (ILL) of e-books is significantly lagging behind because of license agreement restrictions, unstandardized platforms, library policies, and technological barriers. More recently, the long-cherished tradition of ILL has been further challenged, because an increasing number of academic libraries are adopting user-based e-book purchasing models that have the potential to bypass ILL. This paper compares the findings of two longitudinal surveys on e-book ILL practices in U.S. academic libraries, based on random sampling. The results from inferential statistical analyses reveal that, while inter-library lending of entire e-books is seldom practiced and shows no growth, e-book chapter ILL is becoming more prevalent in U.S. academic libraries. Librarians have grown more knowledgeable about licensing and technological issues, but their perceptions of these barriers are mixed. The study also shows that larger institutions are more likely to perform e-book ILL services, and their librarians tend to be more positive about the future of e-book ILL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries are choosing to purchase electronic books (e-books) rather than print more frequently for multiple reasons. Unfortunately, e-books are not being used as much as they should be. With increasing academic e-book collections, many studies have examined student and faculty use of and attitudes towards this innovation. This paper will analyze the results in this area of research and align them with the Diffusion of Innovations Theory that includes the Rogers Diffusion of Innovations Curve, innovation categories, and the factors affecting the diffusion process of an innovation. This analysis will give libraries a better understanding of who is using academic e-books, why academic e-books are being used, and how to influence the behaviour of the academic libraries' patrons to increase their use of academic e-books. An analysis of these three areas will help libraries to develop effective marketing and education strategies aimed at increasing e-book usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was intended to evaluate electronic collections, digital collections, digital resources, ebooks, e-resources using bibliometric exploration from 2001 to 2020. The main purpose is to associate the available scholarship on the electronic and digital collections in the Web of Science indexed documents. There was a lack of computable quantities on the electronic collections. We used the bibliometric analysis and 2002 published documents were found. The results indicated that the top topic of published documents as electronic books or e-books and library, article as a type, English as the top language, top publications in 2016, and Huang YM was the top author. Data analysis also asserted that the top organization was Bar Ilan Univ., Israel, United States as the top country, electronic books were top keyword, and electronic library with 616 citations was as a top source of publication. Further, the results and trends of data were present in the form of tables and figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to determine how undergraduate students at the University of Namibia perceive and use e-books. This paper aims to report on the result of a study that investigated the adoption of, views about and use of e-books at the University of Namibia. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a mixed-method approach. It used three methods, namely, focus group interviews, observation combined with the think aloud and a survey to investigate how undergraduate students use e-books. Findings: Major findings of the study indicated that students use and prefer e-books for course and research purposes. But they mainly use non-library search engines such as Google, Yahoo and commercial sites. Lack of searching skills, slow/unreliable internet and limited or lack of relevant content of e-book collections were the major hindrances affecting e-book use. Originality/value: The findings of the study could be used to understand the use of e-books at the University of Namibia and at academic institutions with similar context to Namibia. The study contributes to the knowledge base of library and information science (LIS) by providing a detailed analysis on the views and use of e-books at the University of Namibia. The recommendations of this study can be adopted by libraries in other countries with similar socio-economic conditions like Namibia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discussed usage of e-books in two Nigeria universities with a particular emphasis on the circulation routines regarding the usage of eBooks. The questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. A total of 572 sets of questionnaire were distributed among undergraduate and postgraduates students of University of Lagos and Covenant University. This paper showed how the application of e-books could enrich the library services and thereby enhance the academic performance of students in Nigerian institutions of higher learning. Also, it discussed some challenges affecting the effective use of eBooks in academic libraries studied. The paper concluded with some recommendations that could serve as a way forward to those challenges bedeviling the effective performance of the eBook usage in Nigeria Libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of the study is to review the e-books collection, namely, Ebrary Academic Complete, by understanding its features, cost and usage at Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA). The study attempts to understand the usefulness of Ebrary in terms of its currency of titles, publishers, subjects and cost.Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on five-year usage data of Ebrary Academic Complete at Vikram Sarabhai Library, IIMA. The data on usage of Ebrary was downloaded and analyzed on different parameters to find out the overall value or use of Ebrary Academic Complete package from the perspective of a management library.Findings The research concluded that there was an increase in usage of Ebrary Academic Complete over time. The subject analysis revealed that titles from “Business and Economics”, “Computers” and “Social Science” were the highest used. The publisher analysis indicated that John Wiley & Sons topped in both the highest number of titles in the package and highest used titles. The annual subscription fee model of Ebrary Academic Complete adopted by Vikram Sarabhai Library was working well with a gradual increase in usage bringing down the per title access costs.Originality/value The study helps in understanding the approach to evaluating e-book collections in terms of currency of content, subjects covered, publishers included and costs involved. The detailed analysis would assist libraries in decision-making with regard to e-book collection development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]