Open AccessMedical students prefer print textbooks for studying but value the e-books’ search function and availability
Author(s) -
Sabine D. Klein
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the european association for health information and libraries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2392-8131
pISSN - 1841-0715
DOI - 10.32384/jeahil16366
Subject(s) - reading (process) , function (biology) , medical library , order (exchange) , value (mathematics) , medical education , electronic book , psychology , library science , computer science , medicine , political science , business , finance , evolutionary biology , machine learning , law , biology
Since a few years our library has mostly acquired journals only in electronic format, whereas medical textbooks are often provided in print and as e-books. In order to meet the students’ current needs and to reasonably allocate financial means and efforts, we performed a survey about format preferences amongst medical students at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. 94 medical students returned our questionnaire in December 2018 (4.6% response rate). The survey showed that print books were used more often, especially for longer reading, but e-books were also commonly used. Perceived advantages of print books were the possibilities to mark text passages and better eye comfort. E-books were valued for their search function and availability.