This document summarizes research into student habits and perceptions of e-books and print books. It finds that while students prefer e-books for research due to convenience, they have a strong preference for print books for leisure reading because of the personal connections they form. The research also identified obstacles to e-book use, such as downloading requirements and impersonal feel. It recommends that libraries focus on autonomy, convenience, and flexibility in students by simplifying access, allowing printing and downloading, and enabling annotations in e-books.

1. Using Books for Research:
Student Habits and
Perceptions of E-books
and Print Books
Deirdre Costello
Director, UX Research
dcostello@ebsco.com
@deirdre_lyon
Kara Kroes Li
Director, Product
Management, eBooks
kkroes@ebsco.com
@karamargaret

2. *: FOCUS ON
EBOOKS
Iterative Qualitative
Surveys*
Investigating workflows and
validating designs
Unmoderated
Testing*
Get a sense of decision-making
workflows
LJ Survey
Validate with quantitative data
where possible
Unstructured Interviews
Probe deeply on workflows and
decision-making
LJ Survey: http://bit.ly/LJBooksSurvey

3. Why?
Understand the ecosystem in
which students make decisions
about books
Understand obstacles students
perceive to using ebooks
Understand if leisure reading
habits might offer solutions

4. Don’t Make Decisions For Me
Show me what I need to make decisions for
myself
Let Me Find My Own Path
Don’t assume it’s linear
Let Me Work How I Want
Make your system flexible enough for me to
choose how I work
AUTONOMY

5. Broad Searches
• Beginning the
research process
• Building
foundational
knowledge
• Filling a knowledge
gap
FORMAT
DECISIONS:
BOOKS ARTICLES
Narrow Searches
• Staying current
• Looking for specific
information
• In some cases,
students are being
told specifically to
use articles
Choosing a book
vs. an article
generally depends
on the point in the
research process.

6. PUBLIC LIBRARY FORMAT CHOICES
I Can Navigate How I WantI Prefer Print Because ….
• I like the smell
• They keep me company
• I feel connected to them
Both print and ebook preferrers cited being
able to navigate and read how they wanted to
as the root of their preference.
I Prefer eBooks Because ….
• I can read in bed
• I can travel easily
• I feel connected to my device
Immediacy is Most Important
Even for participants with strong preferences,
if a desired book was available in another
format first they would take that format.

7. Shallow Engagement
Quick, easy navigation
What Print is For
Deep Engagement
WHY PRINT?
Personal
Eyes don’t get tired, interactions
feel natural
Students print out things they
really want to absorb
“A book is a form of
communication”: connections to
physical books are stronger

8. #1
CONVENIENT
Available anywhere
anytime on any device,
easy to travel with
DOWNLOADING
Often require additional
software, which is not an
option on shared computers
IMPERSONAL
Can feel cold – harder to
make connections with
AUTHENTICATION
Often require additional
logins to access
TIRING
Physically hard to read for
long periods of time
WHY
EBOOKS?
EBOOK OBSTACLES

9. 35
68
74
45
23
12
20
9
14
RESEARCH
ASSIGNED
READING
LEISURE
Print books eBooks No Preference
FORMAT PREFERENCES
Print is Personal Convenience Is Key
Despite obstacles, respondents prefer ebooks when
conducting research – and this preference is growing
as ebooks get easier. 52% of respondents report their
ebook usage is increasing.
For leisure reading, respondents strongly prefer
print – this aligns with our qualitative findings
that these connections are stronger.

10. Strongest Use Case
1. Use ebook for convenience
2. Determine relevant sections
of the ebook
3. Print relevant section to
replicate print experience
EBOOK USE CASES
Interesting Use Case
1. Review ebook to determine
relevancy
2. If ebook is relevant, travel to
library to find physical book

11. 56% of users think
e-books are easier
to obtain than
print books
54% of users think it’s
easier to find
information in an
e-book
81% of users agree
that an e-book is a
good alternative if a
print book is not
available

12. 01 Annotate
02 Recline
03 Focus
What do Users Do
with Printed
Chapters?

13. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Have page numbers to use in citations
Resize text to fit your screen
Be readable on your phone and tablet
Allow you to bookmark a page, highlight text, or
take notes to come back to later
Allow you to download the entire ebook?
Link to references at the end of a chapter
Allow you to download chapters

14. WHAT DO USERS LIKE MOST ABOUT
THEIR FAVORITE E-BOOK PROVDER?
Easy to Access
No authentication after
initial set up; apps are
always available on
devices.
Easy to Use
“Amazon.com is very
valuable and helpful in
displaying and explicating
things clearly.”
Wide Selection
“They’ve always had the
books I’m looking for.”

15. INVEST IN EPUB/HTML
EPUB enables linking to end of
chapter references and back
(page flipping) and customized
settings (easier on the eyes)
SIMPLIFY
Minimize clicks, log-ins,
and extra software to
access core functionality
EVALUATION
Ensure users can make good
decisions on whether to use an e-
book or go find a print version
GRAB AND GO
Ensure users can print
chapters or download books
easily once they locate
material they want to absorb
and retain
SEARCH WITHIN
Ensure users can quickly and
intuitively find the relevant
portion or chapter of the
book
OPTIMIZE ANNOTATIONS
While most students still take notes
on paper, they expect annotation
capability to be simple and useful
HOW CAN WE USE THIS INFORMATION
TO IMPROVE LIBRARY PRODUCTS?

16. TAKEAWAYS
Autonomy
Let me be in charge.
Convenience
Is my priority.
Flexibility
Let me choose my own path.

17. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?
Kara: kkroes@ebsco.com, @karamargaret
Deirdre: dcostello@ebsco.com, @deirdre_lyon
LJ Survey: http://bit.ly/LJBooksSurvey