Conventional wisdom holds that the availability of eBooks and their inherent utility – full text searchability, ease of access, etc. – are what drive use and acceptance. But are these the only factors behind the rate of adoption of eBooks at undergraduate universities?

A new Springer white paper by Deborah Lenares of the Margaret Clapp Library at Wellesley College, and Steven Smith, formerly of Wellesley College and now Head of Collection Management at Boston University Libraries, draws on past studies and a new survey of users at Wellesley College to uncover some interesting insights for undergraduate librarians and institutions. The white paper is available both online, and will be distributed at this year’s Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L) Conference in Austin, TX.

The results in this most recent survey revealed that 73 percent of faculty and 70 percent of students reported having used an eBook. What’s more, is that in comparing this against 2007 Wellesley-use data, the number of unique titles that were accessed jumped by 40 percent. While this may be due to the increased availability of eBooks, total pages viewed increased by 184 percent, and surprisingly, the number of pages printed dropped by 11 percent. However, this new survey indicates that the increased adoption of eBooks as a result of availability and convenience is only part of the story.

The study also reveals that faculty are more likely to own, or plan to purchase, a reading device for eBooks. Nearly half (45 percent) of student responders indicated that they have no plans to purchase a reading device. Furthermore, those who own a device (i.e. faculty) are far more likely than those who do not to read at least a full chapter from, if not an entire eBook. This data seems to support the idea that wider device ownership or usage could unlock a much larger adoption of eBooks.

The authors conclude, “Results from the survey seem to show that faculty have a slightly higher acceptance of eBooks, and students a slightly higher preference for print books. We also find that faculty at Wellesley are much more likely than students to either own or plan to purchase a mobile device particularly tablets. By analyzing responses from those who own or plan to purchase a mobile device we can further clarify this difference in format preference.”

For the full text or more information on this and other Springer white papers, visit Springer’s website, or speak with a Springer representative at the Vendor Reception and Exhibit of the 2013 ER&L Conference.

Oxford University Press (OUP) was again named Publisher of the Year at a Booksellers Association award ceremony on Wednesday 13 March.

It was the eighth time in nine years that OUP collected the Publisher of the Year award at the Conference for Academic, Professional & Specialist Booksellers Awards Ceremony.
The awards are judged by booksellers and Bookseller Association members working in the UK who score publishers throughout the year.

Categories focus specifically on the services being offered to booksellers by publishers such as rep support, engagement with bookshops, which publishers give reasonable terms to booksellers, publishers’ websites, support from central or head office services, delivery turnaround times, and publishing.

Chris Holmes, Head of UK Retail & HE Sales, said: “We feel very privileged to receive the Publisher of the Year for the eighth time. It demonstrates that our efforts to support the bookselling industry continue to have a positive impact, and we are very pleased with the result.”

The UK risks slipping into the margin of world competitiveness without further investment in science, says the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The country’s economic recovery is threatened by lack of funding for science research and the government must take urgent action, said the society’s president.

“Britain is on an economic tightrope. Science and innovation, properly supported, will help get us to the other side,” said Professor Lesley Yellowlees.

The chemical science community has produced a report Chemistry: we mean business setting out a ten-point plan to help Britain derive the greatest possible industrial advantage from its impressive science base.

“Most importantly we call on Government to return public investment in science to inflation-led growth before it is too late,” added Professor Yellowlees.

” We are not suggesting that the Government has entirely neglected science recently;  but we do assert that it has not done enough.

“Chemists and chemical engineers whom we represent welcomed publication of the Government’s recent Life Sciences Strategy; similarly, we welcomed the Autumn Statement by which £600m was invested in eight science priority growth areas.  Many of these areas are closely linked to, and dependent upon, innovative chemistry and will contribute significantly towards rebalancing the economy.

“But the scale of the challenge facing the country demands more than has already been offered by the Government

“The chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors alone added £27 billion to the economy in 2011. Unless we re-invest in our science base now we will miss out on future wealth-creating opportunities and we will fall further behind our international competitors.

“The Government wants to make Britain competitive internationally, yet there is still inadequate funding for science when it should be the driving force behind such progress. This central paradox must be addressed.”

The RSC is one of five bodies pressing the government to take action in the budget to back science research, the others being the Chemical Industries Association, the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the Society of Chemical Industry and the Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network.

This group of leading scientific institutions has written to the Treasury underlining the importance of the chemical sciences to the UK’s economic recovery hopes, and is seeking to work with the government to make sure that the chemical science community can help to support the UK growth agenda.

The letter says urgent actions are needed to maintain the UK’s competitive edge through a world-leading science base and to get the economy back on the pathway to growth.

Professor Yellowlees said: “Firstly, the government must link science funding to inflation. The freeze on science spending means that because of inflation over the past three years there has been a 10 per cent cut in real terms.

“Additionally, the government has to ensure that innovation resources are targeted to growth areas of strategic importance. Fundamental research, supported by the seven research councils, is the bedrock of knowledge and scientific breakthrough.  We need to create an environment for innovation where these breakthroughs are translated into economic and societal benefits for the people of the UK.”

The RSC report focuses on the vital need of a skills pipeline to guarantee that young, talented people emerge so that British companies get a steady supply of skills in the future.

Professor Yellowlees added: “The UK workforce is ageing. Unless we address the resulting skills gap then we risk facing a talent shortage which means companies will struggle to compete with the number of small to medium businesses shrinking.

“Around the world, other countries are getting it right by pouring investment into their sciences, aware that this will pay off.

“We must learn from the likes of China, South Korea and Brazil, who have all recognised the direct link between investment in science research and economic growth.

“If the UK shrinks from this challenge it risks slipping into the margin of global industrial viability.”

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and IOP Publishing (IOP) have signed an agreement to publish the conference proceedings from the 28th International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC) on an open access basis.

ICPEAC, which is being held in Lanzhou, China, on 24 – 30 July 2013, is a biennial international meeting bringing together over 500 physicists, from more than 40 countries, working in the atomic physics field.

IOP will be publishing the proceedings from ICPEAC for the third time running in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The journal previously published the proceedings from the 2011 conference hosted in Belfast, UK and the 2009 conference held in Freiburg, Germany.

Guoqing Xiao, Director of the Institute of Modern Physics, CAS, said: “We are very pleased to invite IOP as the publisher of ICPEAC 2013. At the last two ICPEACs, IOP did a great job in publishing our papers and left a deep impression with us. So I believe that IOP still have the ability to undertake the task. I am convinced that this year’s conference will be successfully held in co-operation between CAS and IOP.”

Mingfang Lu, Editor-in-Chief – China at IOP, said: “We are delighted to be publishing the proceedings of this important conference again and to further strengthen our long-standing collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. With the proceedings being open access, ICPEAC is leaving a legacy that will give long-lasting value to physics communities worldwide. I very much look forward to meeting with delegates at the conference in July.”

Along with Mingfang Lu, Sarah Toms, Conference Publishing Coordinator at IOP, will be attending the conference.

OUP today announced that Adrian Mellor has been appointed as the new Managing Director for its Asia Education Division.

Asia Education comprises OUP’s operations in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and China. It was created after a restructure last October which disbanded OUP’s International Division to create two new education units—Oxford Education (UK, Africa, Australia) and Asia Education.

Since 2005 Adrian has worked within OUP’s ELT Division, as Sales Director and more recently as Managing Director, OUP Latin America and ELT International Development. Prior to that he was a Managing Director at Pearson Education.

“This appointment is great news for OUP,” commented Nigel Portwood, Chief Executive of Oxford University Press. “Adrian has an exemplary track record for achieving growth in emerging economies such as Latin America, and has a deep understanding of international education markets. I am certain that he will continue our work to establish OUP’s Asian Division as a leader in providing educational resources in the region.”