More E-Books, Less Print?—What Does Usage Data Tell Us?

As academic libraries transform their buildings to provide more study space, librarians may consider increasing e-book acquisitions as a space saving strategy. However, to what extent a library's e-book collection is used remains a central question. Using two subject collections as examples, this case study analyzes one academic library's usage data for both electronic and print books over a 5-year period (2011–2015) in order to gain insights into usage patterns, trends, user preferences, and behaviors between print and electronic format. Based on the sample data, the study finds that not only was the library's e-books collection substantively used, but also the e-book usage was noticeably higher than print. In fact, there was a gradual shift in user preferences from print to electronic format. In addition, the study shows that newer publications had higher usage regardless of format. In conclusion, the authors recommend expanding e-books acquisition programs and shifting the focus of future collection development from print to electronic format.