eBooks for a Distributed Learning University

Royal Roads University library, in implementing the institution's distributed learning model, purchased its first eBook collection in April 2000. Now, three years into subscription commitments and active development of an eBooks collection, the library conducts a study to determine: Who is accessing the collection? For what purposes is it being used? Is the collection adequate to meet the academic program needs? Is there a preference for the open access model over single user access? How does the learning community find reading on screen versus print? In short, is an eBook collection a vital resource for distributed learning? This paper focuses on the discoveries made through a quantitative and qualitative research study.