2017 Charleston Library Conference

Libraries and publishers are keenly aware of high-quality ebooks in their collections, ripe for use as assigned textbooks. Faculty, however, rarely think to check the library when choosing textbooks, instead relying traditional selection, publishing, and distribution channels. As a result, students are burdened with skyrocketing cost, frequently exceeding $200 per book, some students do not buy required text or delay taking courses if they cannot afford the book. Lawmakers and academic administrators are aware of the extraordinary expense of textbooks and students’ predicament. In Florida, legislation and governing boards mandated that universities promote Textbook Affordability (TA).

In this context, the University of Central Florida Libraries (UCF) and Taylor and Francis (T&F) collaborated to use library-licensed ebooks to improve TA. In 2016, UCF compared the university-wide assigned textbooks list with already-owned or purchasable DRM-friendly books. For a sub-selection of courses we reviewed number of enrolled students, cost per student for the print textbook, and price paid by the library for a DRM-friendly version. The results were encouraging, showing a large potential ROI and high usage of the selected ebooks. We expanded the project in 2017, with increased outreach to inform faculty about digital options and matching additional courses with already-purchased ebooks. Simultaneously, T&F monitored textbook orders from UCF and informed individual faculty if a DRM-free version was available in the UCF Library or eligible for library purchase.

The presenters will outline the project background, methodology used for assessing the ROI and potential savings, outreach to faculty, assessment and outcomes. We will discuss the UCF and T&F collaboration and their perspectives on TA. Finally, we will address the scalability and sustainability of the effort and give advice for any libraries the want to undertake a similar effort.