E-BOOK USAGE SURVEY

WE ARE CONDUCTING A SURVEY RELATING TO THE PERCEPTIONS AND OPINIONS OF READERS AND USERS OF E-BOOKS IN ACCESSING INFORMATION FOR THEIR MANIFOLD ACTIVITIES INCLUDING FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES.

THE PUBLISHING, RESELLING, AND VENDOR INDUSTRRIES ARE SPECIFICALLY AND PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGED TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS AND CONCERNS VIS-A-VIS THE E-BOOK.

WE, THEREFORE, INVITE YOUR PARTICIPATION AND COOPERATION, AND APPRECIATE YOUR COMPLETING AND RETURNING THE SURVEY BY OCTOBER 15, 2001.

LAST NAME:___________________________FIRST NAME:___________________________

TITLE:___________________________ORGANIZATION:______________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

CITY:________________________STATE_________________ZIP CODE:________________

COUNTRY:____________________ PHONE:_________________FAX:__________________

E-MAIL: _____________________________________________________________________

TYPE OF BUSINESS IN THE INFORMATION WORLD:

(PLEASE INDICATE e.g. ILL, REFERENCE, SERIALS, INDIVIDUAL ETC where appropriate)

________ACADEMIC _________BUSINESS ________LAW __________MEDICAL

________PUBLIC __________SCHOOL _______SPECIAL _______PUBLISHER_________

VENDOR________ RESELLER________ OTHER____________________*  (PLEASE SPECIFY*)


1- HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE " ELECTRONIC BOOK" OR "E-BOOK" ?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

 

2- HOW DO YOU ACCESS E-BOOK INFORMATION?

(A)______INTERNET ________HOMEPAGE (WWW) _______ONLINE DATABASES

______LIBRARIES _______BUSINESS ACCOUNT ______SHARE WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS

______POCKET PCs ______PALM HELD DEVICES______DIALUP______OTHER (LIST)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

(B)THE TYPES OF E-BOOKS YOU USE:  FICTION______ NONFICTION______

(PLEASE SPECIFY:_________________________________________)


3- ARE YOU DOWNLOADING YOUR E-BOOK DATA VIA:

__________E-MAIL ___________COMPUTERS ___________PRINTING

__________DISKS ________OTHER (SPECIFY)__________________

__________________________________________________________

 

4. IN YOUR OPINION, WILL E-BOOKS REPLACE THE TRADITIONAL PRINTED FORMAT?

_____YES _____NO

5. IN THE MILIEU IN WHICH YOU OPERATE, DO E-BOOKS CIRCULATE?

_____YES _____NO

6- WHAT PERCENTAGE OF E-BOOK DATA DO YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR RESEARCH, OR UTILIZE OR

CITE IN YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHIES, PROJECTS, OR OTHER ASSIGNMENTS?

_______ LESS THAN 10% ________ 20-40% _________ MORE THAN 50%

_______ NONE

7- DO YOU TRANSMIT E-BOOK DATA FROM PUBLISHERS OR THE INTERNET?

________YES ________NO

IF (YES) BY: _______FAX ________INTERNET ______E-MAIL

_______ OTHER (PLEASE SPECIFY)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

 

8- WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING E-BOOKS OVER THE TRADITIONAL MECHANISMS

-- PRINT, MICROFORM, ETC?

(PLEASE DESCRIBE "OTHER"* <BELOW> IN DETAIL).

MULTIPLE TITLES IN SINGLE BOOK ____________

INCLUDES ONLINE DICTIONARY & LINK TO OTHER SITES___________

OLD TITLES CANNOT GO OUT-OF-PRINT_______________

READERS CAN ADD SEVERAL CHAPTERS FROM SEVERAL

BOOKS (e.g. course reserves)_____________

UPDATE TEXTBOOKS WITH MINIMALCOST TO USER___________

LOWER PUBLISHING & DISTRIBUTION COSTS________

REDUCE # OF PAPERS AND PHYSICAL SPACE ____________

E-BOOKS ARE A COLLABORATIVE GROUP EXPERIENCE ______________

MAKES USERS FAMILIAR IN & OPERATE IN HARD/SOFTWARE MILIEU _____________

GREATER SUPPORT TO ONLINE SERVICES WITH BETTER RESOLUTION & MULTIMEDIA __________

SEARCHING & CROSS REFERENCING WITHIN & OUTSIDE THE TEXT________________

AMEND TEXT WITH NOTES, GRAPHIC MEDIA, & CHANGE FONTS___________________

STORE MULTIPLE BOOKS SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR PORTABILITY____________________

MAKE TEXTBOOKS AVAILABLE FOR JUST-IN-TIME-LEARNING_____________________

USED AS A PAD, MAKES WORKING LESS DESK-BASED & MORE MOBILE_____________

OTHER* (PLEASE DESCRIBE)________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

 

9- WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING E-BOOKS?

CURRENT EQUIPMENT STANDARDS (CONTRAST, BRIGHTNESS, RESOLUTION) NOT PERFECT_____________

STRAIN ON EYES AND NECK___________

SCREEN DRAW-BACKS_______________

COPYRIGHT PROBLEMS--LICENSING & DISTRIBUTION ISSUES__________________

MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE PRINTED BOOK____________

BATTERIES NEED CHARGING OR REPLACEMENT IN THE PORTABLES_______________

DISPLACES WORKERS IN THE PRINT BOOK INDUSTRY___________

DATA SO FLUID THAT COPYRIGHT BECOMES ELUSIVE TO ENFORCE AND AUTHORS

HARD TO COMPENSATE__________

E-BOOK COSTS NOT AFFORDABLE FOR DEVELOPING ECONOMIES_________

E-BOOKS NEED PROTECTION FROM THEFT UNTIL COSTS ARE AS INEXPENSIVE

AS PAPERBACKS____________

OTHERS (PLEASE SPECIFY)__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

 

10- WHAT ARE OTHER BARRIERS AGAINST USING E-BOOKS?

_______LIBRARIES DO NOT SUBSCRIBE OR UTILIZE THE TECHNOLOGY

_______UNFAMILIAR WITH ELECTRONIC BOOK MEDIA

_______MEDIA COSTS

_______NEED TRAINING

_______NO ELECTRONIC MEDIA AVAILABLE

_______NOT MANY E-BOOKS AVAILABLE RELATING TO THE TOPIC, SUBJECT, AREA, DISCIPLINE SEARCHED

_______PAPER FORMAT WILL NOT SIMPLY DISAPPEAR

_______THE BOOK AS A DELIVERY PLATFORM HAS TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGES

_______OTHERS (PLEASE SPECIFY)__________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

 

11- IN YOUR OPINION, ARE E-BOOKS COST-EFFECTIVE?

________YES ______NO

WHY SO?

COMMENTS WELCOME FROM ALL PUBLISHERS, READERS, USERS, INTERESTED

OTHERS________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

12- ARE YOU ABLE TO ACCESS E-BOOK DATA FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN YOURS--EVEN

ASSUMING ACCEPTABLE CONNECTIVITY, PROTOCOLS AND THE LIKE?

________YES _______NO

IF (YES) SPECIFY WHICH COUNTRY?_________________________________________

IF (NO) WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?

_________TECHNOLOGY ________CULTURAL ________OTHER (SPECIFY _____________________ )

 

13- WILL RESEARCH AND TEACHING BE BETTER WHEN E-BOOKS ARE UNIVERSALLY IN PLACE

AND USED? PLEASE COMMENT BELOW*

(A) WILL STUDENTS USE E-TEXTBOOKS? ______YES ______NO

(B) WILL PROFESSORS/TEACHERS USE E-BOOKS FOR RESEARCH/TEACHING?

_______YES ______NO

 

PLEASE COMMENT:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

14- WILL ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT LAWS LIMIT THE USE OF ELECTRONIC BOOKS?

_______YES ________NO?

PLEASE COMMENT________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

15- DO YOU USE OR HAVE FAMILIARITY WITH THE FOLLOWING () BRANDS OR () SOFTWARE

OR MODELS?

() FRANKLIN EBOOKMAN_________RCA REB-1200________PALM VISOR________

POCKET PCs (COMPAQ, iPAQ, HP Jornada)____________

NUVOMEDIA_________ ROCKET E-BOOK_________ SOFTBOOK READER___________

() MICROSOFT READER____________ ADOBE GLASSBOOK READER___________

ADOBE EBOOK________ GEMSTAR'S E-BOOK___________

OTHER SOFTWARE THAT MAY BE DEEMED INCOMPATIBLE (PLEASE SPECIFY)

______________________________________

() EVERYBOOK__________ LIBRIUS INC.__________EBOOK ENTRAL_______________

OTHER MODELS_____________

PLEASE SPECIFY _________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

 

16-DO YOU HAVE CASE STUDIES OR RESULTS FROM AN E-BOOK STUDY?

YES_______ NO_________

IF (YES), HAVE YOU INCORPORATED INFORMATION IN RESPONDING TO THIS QUESTIONNAIRE?

YES________ NO_________

IF (NO), COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION IN "ADDITIONAL COMMENTS"

BELOW:

17-ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS YOU WISH TO MAKE?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

 

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND RAPID RESPONSE.

YOUR REPLY BY OCTOBER 15, 2001 WILL BE APPRECIATED. YOU MAY SEND YOUR REPLY BY FAX OR E-MAIL.

A SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY RESULTS WILL BE POSTED AT A LATER DATE WHEN DATA HAVE BEEN ANALYZED.

PLEASE SEND YOUR REPLY TO EITHER:

MOUNIR KHALIL RAJA JAYATILLEKE
CITY COLLEGE/CUNY COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND/CUNY
TEL.(212) 650-5750 TEL.(718) 982-4016
FAX :(212)650-7618 FAX: (718) 982-4015
E-M:MOUCC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU E-M:JAYATILLEKE@POSTBOX.CSI.CUNY.EDU