• Linda Ashcroft
• Library Management

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10 August 2011The past few years have seen a growth in the provision of electronic resources in both academic and public libraries. Many of the initial issues regarding the introduction of ejournals, such as raising user awareness, bundling, proliferation of passwords and consortia purchase (Ashcroft, 2002), have been resolved and they have become a firm provision in academic libraries in many countries. However, while there is much activity in the ebook market, the situation regarding ebook provision is less stable. The nature of provision is fluid, both in terms of the type of ebooks provided and the means of access.

An ebook survey in 2002 found that 62 per cent of student respondents would prefer to use their textbooks in electronic form to save carrying heavy books and to take advantage of the enhanced functionality of ebooks (Hawkins, 2002). Later, in 2004, Abram (2004, p. 14) commented that “some medical and dental schools have gone whole hog to purchase e-textbooks”.

Also in 2004, research found that the most highly subscribed ebook subjects in UK higher education institutes were engineering and science based subjects (Ashcroft and Fong, 2005). Currently the ebook market has expanded with many types of ebooks available – textbooks, reference books, fiction, etc, and with various forms of software and reading devices.

Various surveys regarding ebooks have taken place over the past three years, and this article draws together findings from the resulting reports in order to provide an overview of the current situation.