Plays or e-Plays? Informing a Theater Collection Strategy Using Student Input

Abstract

Do theater students prefer to read print or electronic plays? Are there certain use cases, like memorization for audition or reading for coursework, where theater students have a strong preference? This article seeks to convey the findings of a recent survey given to undergraduate theater students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga regarding their format preferences for plays. The respondents indicated that most preferred reading plays in print and indicated a strong preference for print plays in several situations. This analysis contributes to the body of literature on format preferences and is insightful for librarians involved in developing collections in niche areas.

Keywords:

• Collection development
• user preference
• electronic resources
• theater and performing arts
• plays
• e-plays

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

Our full data set, including questions asked and responses gathered is available here: https://scholar.utc.edu/research-data/1