Factors Affecting the Use of Print and Electronic Books: A Use Study and Discussion

Abstract

This article outlines a study assessing and comparing the rate of use of nonreference print and electronic book collections acquired during the same time period at one academic library. Rate of use was examined for both collections by discipline and method of acquisition. The author found that 74 percent of print titles acquired in 2008–2009 had been used within their first six years in the collection, and that 27 percent of print books acquired between 2008 and 2014 had been used between July 2013 and November 2014. By contrast, only 12 percent of the e-books acquired between 2008 and 2014 were used during the same 17-month period. The author examines how different print and electronic collection development models might affect monograph use in academic libraries within the context of previously published research.