Faculty eBook survey

Faculty Attitude about Ebooks
Faculty members expressed an increasing preference for online resources but a somewhat lukewarm response to ebooks. Among the survey's notable findings: fully half of faculty said they now prefer to use online resources, while just 18 percent said they prefer print. Some 89 percent of respondents use "educational, government and professional" web sites for research, class preparation, or instruction, followed closely by e-journals (86 percent). Ebooks rank "down with personal and corporate web sites," with approximately 54 % citing their use. This corresponds with ebrary's librarian survey, where 59 % of librarians said ebook usage was "fair to poor."

The survey suggests a combination of factors conspire to slow the uptake of ebooks, including ease of use, instruction, and the quality of ebook collections. The bright spot, however, is that once users receive some instruction and become familiar with ebooks, they then prefer them, citing features like 24/7 accessibility, currency, and tools like keyword searching. Another significant reason for low usage is that ebooks have simply not yet hit critical mass at many institutions.
Global Faculty eBook Survey. (2007). Palo Alto, CA:ebrary http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wS8CU8W9N_2fIwRuMq5gNMsw_3d_3d