e-Book Usage on the Rise Among Medical Students, Staff, Faculty

A recent study by the Journal of the Medical Library Association (“Assessing print and electronic use of reference/core medical textbooks,” April 2008) validates our mission and the mission of other electronic resource providers—e-book usage is on the rise among medical students, faculty, and staff.

As with other studies of e-book usage, the authors found that most people access books electronically when they want to read smaller portions of text. This is relevant for the medical field because, as the study states, “Considering that medical books are not typically read cover-to-cover in a single session, the electronic format seems perfectly suited for searching and retrieving relevant sections of such resources.” The authors also found increased use of clinical materials in an electronic format, as many medical students (and faculty and staff) are accessing information remotely during their clinical years.

The study tracked online and print usage of titles among three textbook packages, including AccessMedicine, designed by Silverchair. All three packages showed more electronic access of their textbook titles, but the results for AccessMedicine were especially impressive: users accessed titles 8,658 times on the website as opposed to 76 times for the same titles offered in print.

While there are varying reasons for electronic access versus print access, the sheer volume of titles electronically accessed speaks to the depth of this McGraw-Hill resource. The ease of use and advanced search functions of AccessMedicine certainly make the information easily accessible as well.

Whatever content package is being used, it seems that e-books are perfectly suited for the reading habits of the medical community. As information is needed on a faster, more accurate basis, access to a comprehensive online resource is more important than ever.