Navigating Reader Preferences: Unveiling Format Choices in an Academic Library

This article examines usage of print and ebooks at the State University of New York at New Paltz over 1 year. The goal is to identify book format preferences based on discipline. The data were studied using a two-step methodology: first, nominal analysis differentiated between use and nonuse; second, the percentage of expected use was calculated. This latter approach compares usage of books in each subject area to average usage across the collection, identifying disciplines where one format is used more frequently than anticipated. Findings indicate that ebook usage is higher in most schools, except for the Science and Engineering disciplines, in which readers had a slight preference for print. The authors propose that these insights could assist libraries in developing collection assessment strategies.