E-book use and awareness of public librarians

As a result of the developments in the information and technology environment, electronic books have taken their place in public library collections. It is known that offering e-books in public libraries are a new service. Librarians, who take an active role in the delivery of the service, have essential duties. In this context, this thesis aims to reveal the knowledge and awareness of librarians working in public libraries about e-books. A questionnaire technique was used to compile the study data. The survey was delivered to the about 1086 librarians in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Turkey. Among these librarians, only 402 (four hundred and two) librarians contributed to the study by filling out the questionnaire. As a result of the data's evaluations, it was determined that the e-book knowledge level of librarians working in public libraries is low. Besides, it was determined that librarians have not high e-book usage and format and software awareness levels. In line with these results, it was realized that librarians should know e-books in public libraries and that e-books should be raised. Librarians should be trained in this field, training programs should be created, and professionals should carry out this training. It is also essential to provide training that will raise e-book awareness and/or add course contents to those studying library sciences at universities.