Ebooks in the academic world
With recent advances in technology it has become easier than ever for people to find information. For some people this simply means utilising Google to settle a debate, for others it means they have a wealth of information available for their studies. University students these days have the ability to obtain almost anything they need using the internet, a resource that wasn’t widely available ten years ago and one that wasn’t around a generation ago. For those students, research meant hitting the library or visiting their local book shop.
While this inevitably led to frustration as an in demand book would be out of stock for many students, nowadays they have access to download ebooks – of which there are limitless copies – in seconds. This advance has led many to question whether ebooks are going to overtake books in the academic sphere. One main advantage is for obscure or rare books. Previously they may only have been available in a handful of locations across the country, but now they can be downloaded wherever the student is.
Not only are ebooks constantly in stock, they are also cheaper than their printed counterparts. With no need for materials or printing costs, ebooks take out a vast chunk of the cost needed to prepare books in the traditional way. However, despite this benefit, many publishers have chosen not to take up the ebook possibility as, to them, it adds another cost on top of their printed tomes as they need to re-set the work in a new format. For publishing houses with huge catalogues this is simply too time consuming a task.
Academic ebooks also hold the advantage that they can be easily updated. Before, books that had gone out of date were either consigned to the bin or republished as a new edition. Ebooks offer publishers the opportunity to update easily and simply let anyone who has downloaded the ebook know by sending them an email.
At the moment, though, ebooks are not the number one research method. Many students like to use them as a ‘taster’ or to get quick information, while preferring a printed book for their more thorough research. While it seems unlikely that people will turn to ebooks for novels and pleasure reading, it is far more likely that the academic section will grow as time goes on.
Gladstone Brown is a freelance author who writes for both business and pleasure. He uses this site for both purposes and all articles should be used for information and not as pieces of advice.
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