Digital content services provider Ingram Digital, US, has announced a new survey of e-book users conducted by its Education Solutions unit. The survey is seen to confirm the top three factors driving a surge in adoption of digital textbooks that led Ingram's January-May sales to surpass 2007 results by more than 400 percent.
The company conducted the survey of a sample of its user base, which exceeds 24,000 students and educators. Data from the survey's 680 respondents revealed that when deciding whether to purchase a digital title, 47 percent believe that 'cost in relation to print copies' is very important. A similar proportion of respondents identified the convenience of e-books and interactive features as also being very important.
The survey shows that while the price of digital textbooks is important to consumers, so are other benefits of e-book technology. The student-oriented features of Ingram's VitalSource platform, such as advanced search, highlighting, annotation and note-sharing, are claimed to be uniquely aligned with the needs and expectations of consumers.
By Fall 2008, inventory offered in the VitalBook format will include hundreds of titles by McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Elsevier and other publishers. VitalSource-powered textbooks are available for most disciplines, from anthropology to computer science.
