Students ask for "real", not "e" books

Think millennials prefer reading online? That's not the conclusion of a 2008 article in Reference and User Services Quarterly, titled But I Want a Real Book": An Investigation of Undergraduates" Usage and Attitudes toward Electronic Books:

If students were to be given the choice between using either a print book or the book's electronic equivalent, 66 percent would choose the print book while only 34 percent would prefer the e-book.

Here's how the article described the participants:

A total of 106 questionnaires were completed: 105 were from undergraduates and one was from a graduate student. Since the study focused on undergraduates, data from the one graduate survey was eliminated. The subjects were 60 percent female and 40 percent male, which is reflective of the college's en-rollment data. The academic status of the participants was 38 percent sophomores; 30 percent juniors; 17 percent seniors; and 15 percent freshmen. Ages of participants ranged from 17 to 46, with the average age being 21 years and the median age being 20 years.

The article isn't quite as cut and dried as I make out. Student would use an e-book if it was the only resource available and there is the fact that over a third would choose an e-book. But I think this article is a caution against making assumptions about users based on age.

Does your library offer e-books? What is your experience?

Full article citation (should be available from your desktop):

Title:"But I Want a Real Book": An Investigation of Undergraduates" Usage and Attitudes toward Electronic Books.Find More Like This

Authors:Gregory, Cynthia L.

Source:Reference & User Services Quarterly; Spring2008, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p266-273, 8p

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