News Release

Springer survey uncovers additional facts on eBooks use

A survey conducted by Science+Business Media, in conjunction with 5 leading academic institutions, highlights prominent research and academic usage of eBooks

Business Announcement

Springer

A survey conducted by Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com), the world's largest science, technology and medical book publisher, in conjunction with five leading academic institutions, highlights prominent research and academic usage of eBooks. The survey was conducted to better understand the adoption of eBooks, the use of eBooks, and user perception of eBook advantages and disadvantages.

The new survey revealed that, despite the recent emergence of eBooks, most users were already aware of their existence and had used them at least once, whether through libraries or other sources. The study also found that most users access eBooks for research and study purposes and that the types of eBooks frequently used were reference works and textbooks.

The survey also focused on some of the perceived advantages of eBooks, citing the ability to gain 24/7 access for multiple users, convenient full-text searchability, and easy access to information. However, difficulty of reading books from a screen and preference for traditional print books were cited as the primary disadvantages.

Participating university libraries included: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Turku, Finland; Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI) Amsterdam, the Netherlands; University of Muenster, Germany; and the JRD Tata Memorial Library, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.

"Mostly the advantage of using eBooks would be their convenience," said a user at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Instead of going through the hassle of tracking down a specific work and checking it out, eBooks provide me with easy access to the information I need way at my own convenience and leisure."

Added Olaf Ernst, President eProduct Management & Innovation, Springer, "The survey results show that eBooks are best suited for research purposes or in a search environment. eBooks have the potential to stimulate new forms of book content usage. The feedback provided in this survey can help us accommodate their needs as their eBook collections grow."

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In 2007 Springer Science+Business Media commissioned a survey which revealed that the Springer eBook program was widely accepted among librarians.

The full-text PDF of the white paper, "eBooks – The End User Perspective" can be found at: www.springer.com/ebooks.

Springer (www.springer.com) is the world's second largest journal publisher in the STM (Science, Technology, Medicine) sector and the largest supplier of STM books. It is part of Springer Science+Business Media, one of the internationally leading suppliers of scientific and specialist literature. The company publishes more than 1,700 journals, over 5,500 new books a year and the world's largest collection of STM eBooks. The group has some 5,000 employees working in offices in more than 20 countries in Europe, the USA and Asia.


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