Medical undergraduate students’ perception towards the use and non-use of e-books: a case from Pakistan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of medical undergraduate students regarding their behavior towards use and non-use of e-books. It also elucidates their preferences between print and electronic book format. Design/methodology/approach It is a quantitative study based on survey method. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from final year medical students of three medical colleges of Lahore, Pakistan. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse 232 useable questionnaires. Findings The findings indicate that the use and non-use of e-books is almost equal among students. The students who use e-books mostly access them through Google books, and they used e-books for academic purpose. Users were convinced about the benefits of e-books such as easy access, 24/7 availability and up-to-date information. However, users and non-users of e-books preferred to use printed version of books. Non-users identified that e-books often distract them because of different links on the website, and they do not want to change their habit of reading printed books. Moreover, they are satisfied with printed books available in their libraries and hesitant to read on screen. Research limitations/implications The present study is limited to the medical sciences; its results cannot be generalizing to other academic disciplines. Practical implications The findings of the study will assist the medical libraries to improve their e-books collection and also negotiate the publishers for its licence issues. The study will also encourage the librarians to acquire handheld devices and load them with e-books for their users. Originality/value This is believed to be the first study on the use of e-books in the perspective of medical students in Pakistan.