Academic Book Discovery, Evaluation and Access: A Report

"This report summarises learnings from a small-scale exploratory study investigating how humanities academics encounter, evaluate and gain access to print and ebooks related to their research and teaching. The study seeks to understand the holistic user experience, mapping user journeys to identify aspects of book discovery and access that might be improved. The implications for academic libraries, publishers and booksellers are considered, as potential improvements to current systems are mooted along with opportunities for more disruptive innovation.

The study draws on data collected from dedicated interviews with academics and the wider publishing, information studies and researcher-experience literature. Its approach is heavily influenced by design methodologies, as the reality of academic practice is captured through visual tools and possible new academic experiences are generated through divergent thinking.

The results are shared as a series of insights and practical design questions intended to prompt innovative thinking across the academic publishing, bookselling and library sectors. Overall, this report serves two purposes: it is a research paper exploring the experience of academics as they seek out, assess and access book content and the first stage of a collaborative design project to enhance that experience."