Helping Keep the Costs of Textbooks for Students Down: Two Approaches

Thomas, William Joseph; Bernhardt, Beth

doi:10.1080/07317131.2018.1456844

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In response to the potential of OER to reduce barriers to access, increase student achievement, and encourage pedagogical innovation, many academic Libraries have taken on the oversight of programs that incentivize the adoption of open and affordable course materials on their campuses. Many articles have described local library-coordinated OER or textbook affordability incentive programs ( Blick & Marcus, 2017 ; Thomas & Bernhardt, 2018 ). The structure of textbook affordability programs varies greatly between institutions of higher education.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

Todorinova

Wilkinson²

2020

The Journal of Academic Librarianship

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This survey assessed the experiences of faculty who participated in a textbook affordability program at Rutgers University. The program provided incentive awards in exchange for replacing commercial textbooks with affordable course materials such as open educational resources (OER), self-developed course materials, course reserves, or library-licensed content. The survey collected faculty's perceptions about the award program, experiences with OER, and interest in open textbook authoring. Responses suggest that the program is well received and that funds are adequate for adopting new course materials. However, they also indicate that even participating faculty vary greatly in their knowledge and use of OER and their interest in authoring open textbooks. Ultimately, these survey results indicate the lack of a “one size fits all” approach to incentivizing the adoption of affordable course materials, the use of OER, and the creation of new open resources.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

Todorinova

Wilkinson²

2020

The Journal of Academic Librarianship

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“…Student impact and cost savings were the most commonly assessed data from incentive programs, but a number of programs also included assessment of other factors. In several studies, student academic performance was measured before and after the implementation of textbook alternatives, and in all cases performance was found to be the same or better afterward (Smith, 2018;Croteau, 2017;Thomas & Bernhardt, 2018). Furthermore, Grimaldi, Mallick, Waters, and Baraniuk (2019) have pointed out that measures of textbook alternatives' impact on student learning to date have probably underrepresented the benefits because the measures examine the difference in performance of all students in the course and not only the students who could not otherwise have afforded access to the textbooks, which does not accurately represent where the impact on learning should be expected.…”

Section: Other Trends In Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Textbook Alternative Incentive Programs at U.S. Universities: A Review of the Literature

Lierman

2020

EBLIP

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Objective – This article reviews current literature on incentive grant programs for textbook alternatives at universities and their libraries. Of particular interest in this review are common patterns and factors in the design, development, and implementation of these initiatives at the programmatic level, trends in the results of assessment of programs, and unique elements of certain institutions’ programs. Methods – The review was limited in scope to studies in scholarly and professional publications of textbook alternative incentive programs at universities within the United States of America, published within ten years prior to the investigation. A comprehensive literature search was conducted and then subjected to analysis for trends and patterns. Results – Studies of these types of programs have reported substantial total cost savings to affected students compared to the relatively small financial investments that are required to establish them. The majority of incentive programs were led by university libraries, although the most successful efforts appear to have been broadly collaborative in nature. Programs are well-regarded by students and faculty, with benefits to pedagogy and access to materials beyond the cost savings to students. The field of replacing textbooks with alternatives is still evolving, however, and the required investment of faculty time and effort is still a barrier, while inconsistent approaches to impact measurement make it difficult to compare programs or establish best practices. Conclusion – Overall, the literature shows evidence of significant benefits from incentive programs at a relatively low cost. Furthermore, these programs are opportunities to establish cross-campus partnerships and collaborations, and collaboration seems to be effective at helping to reduce barriers and increase impact. Further research is needed on similar programs at community colleges and at higher education institutions internationally.

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“…Library plans and OT activities that reduce student textbook costs and increase academic activity may vary. Ranging from defining strategies (Thomas & Bernhardt, 2018), financial support for teachers, implementing individual creative projects to increase the interest of teachers and students, and to training programs for librarians.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Libraries as Publishers in the Open Education Landscape: Reflecting Modern World Practice of Open Textbooks

Kolesnykova

2019

ULNSD

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The study aims to analyse the experience of university libraries in different countries in working with the Open Textbook (OT) and to consider the prospects of creating a similar pilot project in Ukraine. Methods. The analysis covered the world publications (journals, books, conference proceedings, posts on social networks) in the field of Library and Information Science, devoted to the role of libraries in OT support, that have appeared since 2014. The author studied the aspects revealing that publication, namely OT, support services are areas with great potential for the future development of academic / university libraries. Results. Numerous evidence is presented that the topic of library as a publisher in OT support is most developed in the universities and colleges in economically developed countries, especially in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. Library strategies for OT projects have been identified. The author clarified the nature of the initiatives and partnerships of libraries in supporting OT, as well as the basic services and roles of libraries in these projects. Conclusions. Today, the global practice of Scholarly Communication has enough evidence that the functions of the Library, lost in the course of evolution, as a Knowledge Publisher have returned under its "roof" and supplemented the existing function of Knowledge Managers. Digital Library Publishing (DLP) services in OT support help to change the learning environment and life of students (including persons with disabilities), pedagogical practices of teachers by means of free textbooks with an open license, as well as to receive reputation benefits for the university, improving the image of the latter. The possibility of eliminating systemic inequalities in access to academic resources increases the significance and changes the role of libraries in open education. The successes of Ukrainian librarians in supporting digital scholarly communication initiatives and the successful implementation of Open Access support projects (repositories, ejournals, e-conferences) give confidence that they can act as initiators and key partners in creating affordable textbooks.

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Helping Keep the Costs of Textbooks for Students Down: Two Approaches

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 publications

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

Textbook Alternative Incentive Programs at U.S. Universities: A Review of the Literature

The Role of Libraries as Publishers in the Open Education Landscape: Reflecting Modern World Practice of Open Textbooks

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