On the Design Preferences for Ebooks

Abstract While many academic libraries are increasingly providing e-book services, a barrier to the adoption of e-books, however, is their unsatisfactory design. This paper reports on a study that investigates the students’ preferences for the e-book designs, in an attempt to review what appeals to them in an ideal e-book. Comparison was made between three e-books in portable document format, all of which were non-fiction, but differed in contents and their styles of presentation. Based on the preliminary findings, some general guidelines were suggested for the improved design of e-books.

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