Diffusion of ebooks among postgraduate students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the diffusion of ebooks among postgraduate students in arts and technology faculties of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Electronic books have become increasingly popular in recent years, but factors influencing their adoption and use are not understood in many institutions. Design/methodology/approach - Guided by a sample survey design, data were collected from 1,518 postgraduate students, 438 from the arts and 1,080 from technology, using a questionnaire and an interview schedule. Findings - Students from both faculties used ebooks, identified through serendipitous browsing of the internet, and mainly Google searching. Many of the ebooks they find are not recommended by their lecturers, while those that are recommended are not available free of charge. Students therefore use ebooks mainly to cross-validate and gain extra insights about what they have been taught. There are significant differences between arts and technology students' use of ebooks with respect to cost, ease of use and other aspects, with technology students having the advantage. There is noprogramme in the university aimed at harvesting and organising ebook resources for students to access. Research limitations/implications - The study focused on only one institution. Practical implications - Institutionalising ebooks could be a useful strategy to address the dearth of current and relevant texts in universities, although ebooks may pose challenges to existing library management processes. Social implications - An ebook revolution will cause great changes in information services in libraries - how would university libraries partner to benchmark this evolving practice with respect to questions about standards, technologies, licensing and pricing, particularly in the developing world? Originality/value - There is no empirical study on this subject matter either in the University used in the study or in any other.