The Use of E-Books for Learning and Research by Postgraduate Students in Ghana: A Study of The University of Ghana and the Ghana Technology University College

Abstract

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become a significant strategic area for libraries to provide quality service to meet their users’ needs. In the bid to improve service delivery, the use of ICT is gradually replacing the manual way of providing service to library users. The ICT that is being used to provide services has proven to be a key to the success of most university libraries by providing new services such as e-books. The study was undertaken to identify the awareness and use of e-books for learning and research by postgraduate students in Ghana. Key aims of the research were to discover the level of awareness of e-books, the level of use, factors that influence the utilization of e-books, benefits/importance of the use of e-books, perception and attitudes towards the use of e-books, challenges faced in the use of e-books by the postgraduate students from the University of Ghana (UG) and the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC). Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire. Proportionate sampling was used to select 200 postgraduate students to participate in the study. Out of the 200 copies of the questionnaires administered, 150 were completed and returned translating into a 75% response rate. In general, the majority of 86.6% and 94.3% respectively of the students from both UG and GTUC, indicated awareness of the existence of e-books. Again, the majority of 87.6% and 75.5% from both UG and GTUC respectively actually used e-books for learning and research activities. Furthermore, most of the students used e-books for academic work. However, majority of 66% respondents from UG were not given any training in the use of the e-books, though the behavioural intention to use them showed a positive sign as against 64.2% from GTUC who were given training in the use of e-books. The study revealed that, the major challenge faced by most of the students, that is, 84.5% and 92.5% from both UG and GTUC respectively when accessing the e-books was lack of stable internet. Notwithstanding the challenges the postgraduate students faced in the use of the e-books, they indicated that they found the utilization of e-books very convenient, easy to use and that e-books can be accessed 24/7 (twenty-four hours a day). The research recommended that both the UG and the GTUC faculty should encourage and include e-books as reading texts for their students. Secondly, the challenge of low and unstable internet should be dealt with by the institutions by providing fast Wifi access at the campuses and to extend the bandwidth in order to increase fast access to the e-books.