CAPP student survey

For Student Information Sources and Book Buying Behaviour 2000–2001, 1,037 students were interviewed on 23 campuses, split equally by gender, between old and new universities, and evenly spread by subject and year of study; 62% were on modular courses, 38% on linear. Students were asked about their finances, their sources for acquiring learning content, factors influencing their book purchases, where they bought their books, and what they thought of their library. Not surprisingly, most students felt financially strapped, and kept expenditure on course materials to a minimum.

Overall, students used in descending order: books owned, books borrowed, handouts and the Internet. Science and technology (S&T) students made most use of handouts; business and management (B&M) students the Internet; and law students and first-year students generally used books.

Internet use was on average three hours a week, higher in the new universities and among B&M, S&T and law students; 10% of students did not use the Internet. Other electronic sources were much less significant.

70% of purchases were of books deemed "essential" by lecturers. Only 20% of students bought from the "recommended" list, largely because of library availability. By their second year, students were much more selective. Most students have part-time jobs, which increases time management pressures, restricts time for wider reading, and leads to a focus on immediate assignments.

Average spend was £114 a year, for eight books at an average price of £17. Law students spent the most (£178), and social sciences students the least (£94). 90% of books were bought new, with only 30% of students buying second-hand books, largely from individuals rather than bookshops.

82% of students had bought new books from the campus bookshop. Overall, 65% of books were bought on campus, 35% off campus. 11% of students had bought from the Internet, but buying from online retailers represented only 4% of total books purchased. Access and delivery issues aside, there was a clear tendency to buy at the last minute, and to want to be able to browse books for relevance and perceived value. 64% thought the campus service was at least fairly good. There is clear demand for better second-hand and buy-back services.

Books were perceived as expensive, although 62% rated their course books as at least fairly good value. 60% claimed to have used less than half of the content from the books they had bought, with only 14% using all or almost all. Although price was linked to value, it was not the crucial criterion driving "essential" purchases.

There was clear demand for multiple copies of essential texts to be available from the library, and for longer short-term loans.

Photocopying was on average five pages per week, restricted by the cost.

Conclusions

Reading lists have become an even more crucial link to purchasing decisions. One in three students bought books not on the recommended list at the time of the last survey in 1997, but only one in five in 2001.

The percentage of relevant content in individual books is perceived to be declining.

The perceived importance of editorial and design factors in influencing book choice appears to have declined since 1997. Top factors in 2001 were price, long-term use and up-to-date content.

Students are still keen to use books in preference to other technology. Books are still generally seen as the fundamental resource outside lectures.

The arrival of tuition fees does not yet appear to had an effect on book purchase behaviour.

Information sources used have changed relatively little since 1997, but awareness of and demand for parts of books is rising. With the majority of students on modular courses, studying more subjects in less depth for less time, they must consult a greater range.

As access to technology improves, it seems likely with time that purchase of "recommended" books will be reduced to purchases of portions only, with the prospect of a wider variety and greater volume of transactions, but lower unit value. However, despite a willingness to buy on this basis and available technology, few are actually using this route yet.

Lecturers' support through reading lists is crucial to the perceived value and use of books.

Publishers and universities need to work together to ensure that the infrastructure is in place and accessible for effective use of and access to information sources, including the technology to deliver abstracts and part books.

Further research into attitudes towards "essential" as opposed to "recommended" reading is needed. Do students still want access to whole books, or is "slice and dice" delivery now more acceptable?

The CAPP survey can be accessed at the homepage of the PA Website (www.publishers.org.uk). The survey was conducted for CAPP by Book Marketing Ltd.