Social Work Students and E-Books: A Survey of Use and Perception

At California State University, Chico, subject librarians are required to make the best collection decisions with their allocated book purchasing funds. To ensure that the library is adequately meeting the needs of both on-campus and distance students in the social work program, the authors conducted a survey of e-book preferences and usage by students in the social work program. The findings show that while not all students prefer e-books, they are willing and likely to use e-books when purchased by the library. Greater flexibility in format choice can be exercised when developing the social work collection. This case study offers a discipline-specific example of how best to apply scarce resources in the rapidly changing field of collection development.

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