Cost of Print and Digital Books: A Comparative Study

The present paper dwells upon the difference between the prices of print versions of academic titles and their digital counterparts across different subjects. It underlines that the print versions of academic titles are cheaper than their digital counterparts. It also spotlights that the commercial publishers are more capable of catering to the information needs of the students and researchers than the University presses by publishing more number of books. Just 57.5% of the required academic titles are available in digital format; hence, libraries cannot switch over to e-only collection development as all of what is needed is not available in digital format.