Like an open book? Accessibility of e-book content for academic study in a diverse student population

Abstract

This paper reviews previous research on e-books and the information seeking behaviour of scholars. It presents the initial findings from an in-depth study of the behaviour and experiences of seven students (including students with dyslexia and visual impairment) using e-books for their academic coursework assignments and highlights the information accessibility issues they encountered. It discusses the need to develop a new model of e-book content delivery and proposes a framework for the evaluation of academic e-books from a commercial or 'business' perspective.