Increasing popularity of EBooks over academic print books
These days, tech-savvy students prefer to use eBooks to attain requisite subjective knowledge. Ten years ago the majority of university students did not have access to the internet at home and had spent most of their time researching at their nearest library. Academic books were only ever available at the library or a local bookshop.
These days nearly all university students have access to the internet and can download academic eBooks in just a matter of minutes. It then raises the all-important question that the media has been concentrating on – are educational eBooks going to take over printed academic books? The debate has seen a lot of criticism of the use of eBooks and how technology has advanced so much that we can no longer live without it.
One example of how just how much technology has become a vital tool for people is eBooks. Even professors and college students prefer to browse online to find in-depth information on specific subjects. They are the first to experience this change as they have access to a large number of resources, both in libraries and via the internet. Most students will begin researching for their dissertation proposal modules and essay topic via the internet, before sourcing what books they need to look through at their library.
Another popular method that students have adopted, which saves them time from taking a trip to the library, is to download eBooks. Academic books have now become a simple source of study, with the internet being the primary source for even the most obscure subjects. Some academic books can only be found in specific locations such as the British Library in London, however other more sought after subjects and titles are easily found on the internet, some of which are available for free.
With this in mind, some authors of academic books have made it their moral obligation to allow for their work to become freely available online. The aim was not to undermine print publishing but to feel like they are doing the right thing in making it easier for students and academics to conduct their research. The idea that making eBooks free for all to use and download have people believing that print books will eventually lose sales and become obsolete.
It is not the case for all publishers and authors and only seems to be true for academic books. However, having book downloads can increase the impact of the print book and will enhance the book’s reach to users. It further exposes academic authors to readers who may not have gravitated towards academic books in the past.