Why are we buying print books when everything goes digital?

Image for choosing between print and e-book
Popular Books

Interested to know how many volumes of print books were added to the Library collection in the last academic year?

Just 2,380 volumes. I say “just” because this is less than one tenth of the number of ebooks added within the same period.

The Library has adopted e-preferred policy for some years, meaning we buy ebooks where possible. Where e-version is not available, we fall back on print. Let’s zoom into the 2,380 print volumes; half of them are Chinese language titles. For the other half, the majority are western titles that are only published in print, mainly from small publishers, or textbooks whose e-version can only be licensed to individuals for personal use or with very high subscription price. We also buy popular reading in print. We believe good thrillers or suspense novels, for instance, are compelling page turners, and people would enjoy having a paper book in hand.

Photo of the New Arrival Wall with physical books and a barcode leading to the New Arrival List Website
The New Arrival Wall

 

Do stop by the New Arrivals corner on Library G/F to check out our latest print books. You won’t miss the QR code there. Scan it to bring up the new ebook arrival page and happy surfing!

 

 

 

Catherine Kwok
Head (Collection Development)
lbckwok@ust.hk

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