JISC national e-books observatory project

Press Release
Studying students studying e-books

Behaviours of students across the UK are being observed in the UK’s first national e-book observatory, which will provide empirical data about the use of e-books in 127 universities.

The launch of new reading devices means that the e-book might finally take off in the consumer market, but what about the academic user? E-book publishers and sellers should not run before they can walk; they need to understand the behaviours and learning styles of the modern student.

JISC is funding the national e-books observatory project to provide publishers and e-book aggregators with a picture of how students use their course texts in the digital environment. The outcomes of the research will help inform the creation of business models as well as the future format of e-books, based on the real needs of the users.

Lorraine Estelle CEO of JISC Collections says this is a unique project, “This is the first time that a national study of this type has been run. The initial observations challenge many of our assumptions about how we believe students use e-books. For example, in the first user survey that received over 22,000 responses, 62% of students reported that they read online whilst only 6% said they print to read. The survey also indicated that interactivity may not be as important to students as we consider it to be. Students say that main attraction is that e-books are more accessible than print books, meaning that users can get at them wherever they are and at whatever time they like.”

Before students start to buy e-book reading devices, publishers need to make course books available online, test their assumptions and understand their student audience. Publishers and libraries must also work together to develop models that will enable the transition from print to online.

The JISC national e-books observatory project will help publishers and libraries do just that.
It is not only looking at student behaviours across the whole of the UK, but at the impact on print sales to students, when the electronic version is available from the university library.

The outcomes of the research will be published in spring 2009.

Ends

Notes to editors:
• JISC Collections works with publishers and aggregators to licence online content to support academic teaching, learning and research in UK higher and further education institutions. www.jisc-collections.ac.uk

• For further information on the JISC national e-books observatory project please visit www.jiscebooksproject.org or contact Caren Milloy, Project Manager at JISC Collections on c.milloy@jisc.ac.uk

• For further information on JISC Collections please contact Brian Mitchell, Marketing Manager on b.mitchell@jisc.ac.uk

• For further information on JISC please contact Rebecca O’Brien public relations officer on r.obrien@jisc.ac.uk

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