Future of Publishing and Use of eBooks in Kenya

Abstract

This paper investigated the current status of publishing and use of eBooks in Kenya with a view to predict their future. The paper aimed at answering the following three objectives: establish the current eBook information scenario in Kenya; establish who the users of eBooks in Kenya are; and establish publishers' perceptions on the future of eBooks in Kenya. Information for this study was collected mainly through literature review, questionnaire and interview schedules. Findings included the fact that the level of use of commercial eBooks in Kenya is still not known due to lack of data on the same. However from the educational institutions the use of open access eBooks is on the rise. There is still a high level of lack of awareness of eBooks that are accessible through the Kenya Libraries and Information Services consortium and open access initiatives. The current eBooks procurement methods are unfriendly to libraries. It is recommended that procedures for the procurement of eBooks be enhanced to accommodate acquisition of individual single titles. There is also a call to publishers and aggregators to come up with more innovative ways of selling eBooks with minimum layers of access and in more formats to enable buyers to make their choices in paying for full text access or chapter access.