Librarians at Webster University began a textbook affordability project in an attempt to relieve some of the burdens that purchasing textbooks can place on students. Studies show that high textbook costs can negatively impact student outcomes, and we knew from our own experiences that the difficulties of obtaining print textbooks in a timely manner presented real challenges, particularly for our students at international campuses.
While there was some interest within the library and the larger campus community in embarking on a large-scale textbook replacement project, funding for this was not available. In addition, the demands on the faculty and the library staff, especially once the pandemic hit, did not make a large project feasible. Instead, the library began a series of small pilot projects, using Faculty Select, Open Textbook Network (OTN), and DRM-free eBooks purchased through a vendor. We analyzed the savings and considered the staff time spent, and some of the results were surprising!
We are still at the beginning stages of this project, but we will share what we’ve learned so far and what we plan to do next. Time will be provided for Q&A and discussion. If you are working on a similar project, please come and share your expertise!
Participants will leave with an understanding of the textbook challenges faced by students, knowledge about some possible solutions, and we hope a desire to give one or more of them a try!