Trinity Washington University Alternatives to Textbooks E-books and Custom Publishing Jacob Berg, Sister Helen Sheehan Library January, 2010

Textbooks are expensive Why? Revision Cycle –3 to 4 years, on average Enhanced Offerings –CD-ROMs, web-based features Moral Hazard

Increase in Textbook Price By Year,

National Association of College Stores, 2008

What does this mean for you? Students don’t buy textbooks Use the library, or they don’t read the book Assignments suffer * Numbers not yet final Sept361 Oct291 Nov154 Dec34 Total Reserve Book Requests, Fall 2010*840

Solution 1: e-books Pros Cheap Portable Embedded/linked in Moodle Cons Students don’t like them May be dependent on an Internet connection In some cases, students cannot access the book after the course is over

Solution 1.1: Open-access Google is your friendGoogle University consortiums are your friend, too

1.1: What’s an open textbook? Generally, open textbooks allow users: to use the textbook without compensating the author to copy the textbook, with appropriate credit to the author to distribute the textbook non-commercially However, there may be restrictions on modifying or printing Source: Open Access Textbooks,

Open vs. Traditional Textbooks Open TextbooksTraditional Textbooks Dynamic and customizableStatic and non-customizable Targeted in-depth materialGeneric material TimelyDated Can be personalized for local conditions Standardized content Can addresses multiple learning stylesAssumes a uniform learning style FreeOften costly (Source: Rice University, Connexions, )

Open Textbooks in Practice Test Case: Statistics –Introductory Statistics vs. Collaborative StatisticsCollaborative Statistics –Bookstore vs. Open Access e-book –Costly vs. Free

Solution 2: Custom Publishing Through the bookstore (eFollet) – – Through a publisher (e.g., Pearson) Flat World Knowledge –Free e-book or low-cost print on demand (POD)

Solution 2: Custom Publishing Pros Less expensive Customizable Cons No re-sale value Not as sturdy

Solution 3 Textbook Rentals –Cheaper than buying –Cheaper than an e-book –( But supply is often limited

Wrapping Up Consider either e-books or a custom published book in place of textbooks –Especially true of Trinity Online courses Non-traditional textbook options are not a panacea –They may not be right for you Contact: Jacob Berg, Eddie Lewis, Trinity Bookstore Manager, x9157