E-book use and value in the humanities: Scholars' practices and expectations

A research project to study e-book adoption in the humanities was conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This study had multiple components. Data were collected from a demand-driven acquisition program in humanities disciplines utilizing short-term loans purchased via an e-book aggre-gator. The study measured the choice of an e-book over print by reviewing print availability as an e-book loan was initiated. Use transactions were examined and categorized to determine levels of e-book use. Scholars from disciplines matching the Demand-Driven Acquisitions (DDA) offerings were invited to take a survey on e-books. Scholars were asked about their view on the adoption of e-books, e-book values, the role of print books in the future and factors in their choice of book format. The data showed a split in acceptance of electronic versus print. The data also show that although humanists may lag behind other disciplines in incor-porating e-books into their research, they believe e-book availability and use will increase. Many would like to see more e-books available in their disciplines. The e-book format is appreciated, but scholars may also want the full text along with the print because of the varied types of reading employed by humanities scholars.