Higher education's interest in digital content, especially e-books, has gone off the charts. With the rapid acceptance of e-books for pleasure reading, attention has now shifted to e-textbooks and their promise of significant cost savings and cutting-edge features. But getting a good grasp on the fast-moving realm of digital content for higher education can be a Herculean feat. In the author's role as director of product management for the digital education team at Barnes & Noble, he is responsible for defining Barnes & Noble's digital products for higher education. Recently, to help him gain a deeper understanding of this emerging field, the author and his team performed extensive user research on students' needs and expectations regarding digital content. Though their research explored a seemingly constant stream of new formats, devices, and business models, one common theme emerged: a digital transformation in higher education can succeed only if it is tailored to the unique needs of students in the academic setting.