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May 2012 - Information Technology

The latest Global Student E-book Survey by ebrary has found that UK students not only have the greatest preference to digital books over their printed counterparts, but a higher usage of them than people elsewhere in the world.

In total, 58% of UK students claimed they would "very often" to "often" choose the digital version if available, compared to 48% of respondents in other countries.

A majority of 85% of UK students also indicated they use e-books up to 10 hours per week, with only 10% stating that they never use them. Contrasting this, 52% of global surveyants said they use e-books up to 10 hours per week, while 46% stated they never use them.

In addition, more than 80% of UK students claimed that their awareness of digital resources is “good” to “excellent”, compared to less than 69% of global participants. For example, only 6% of UK students did not know their libraries offer e-books, in contrast to 38% of their global counterparts.

Kevin Sayar, President and General Manager of ebrary, commented: "One explanation may be that UK students know when they are using digital books, whereas other students may mistake e-books for online journals or other formats. It is also possible that UK librarians are doing more in terms of e-book training and promotion.“

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