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E-books: yes or no? A case study of undergraduate students at the University of Namibia

E-books: yes or no? A case study of undergraduate students at the University of Namibia The purpose of the paper is to determine how undergraduate students at the University of Namibia perceive and use e-books. This paper aims to report on the result of a study that investigated the adoption of, views about and use of e-books at the University of Namibia.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a mixed-method approach. It used three methods, namely, focus group interviews, observation combined with the think aloud and a survey to investigate how undergraduate students use e-books.FindingsMajor findings of the study indicated that students use and prefer e-books for course and research purposes. But they mainly use non-library search engines such as Google, Yahoo and commercial sites. Lack of searching skills, slow/unreliable internet and limited or lack of relevant content of e-book collections were the major hindrances affecting e-book use.Originality/valueThe findings of the study could be used to understand the use of e-books at the University of Namibia and at academic institutions with similar context to Namibia. The study contributes to the knowledge base of library and information science (LIS) by providing a detailed analysis on the views and use of e-books at the University of Namibia. The recommendations of this study can be adopted by libraries in other countries with similar socio-economic conditions like Namibia. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Collection and Curation Emerald Publishing

E-books: yes or no? A case study of undergraduate students at the University of Namibia

Leonard, Anna; Snyman, Maritha
Collection and Curation , Volume 38 (3): 11 – Jul 1, 2019
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2514-9326
DOI
10.1108/cc-08-2018-0018
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Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to determine how undergraduate students at the University of Namibia perceive and use e-books. This paper aims to report on the result of a study that investigated the adoption of, views about and use of e-books at the University of Namibia.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a mixed-method approach. It used three methods, namely, focus group interviews, observation combined with the think aloud and a survey to investigate how undergraduate students use e-books.FindingsMajor findings of the study indicated that students use and prefer e-books for course and research purposes. But they mainly use non-library search engines such as Google, Yahoo and commercial sites. Lack of searching skills, slow/unreliable internet and limited or lack of relevant content of e-book collections were the major hindrances affecting e-book use.Originality/valueThe findings of the study could be used to understand the use of e-books at the University of Namibia and at academic institutions with similar context to Namibia. The study contributes to the knowledge base of library and information science (LIS) by providing a detailed analysis on the views and use of e-books at the University of Namibia. The recommendations of this study can be adopted by libraries in other countries with similar socio-economic conditions like Namibia.

Journal

Collection and Curation – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 1, 2019

Keywords: Academic libraries; Undergraduate students; User studies; E-books; Information seeking behavior; Use of e-books

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