1. Textbook Affordability and OER
Florida Virtual Campus OER Summit
Elijah Scott
Executive Director

2. A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library.
--Shelby Foote

3. The Library’s Role in Affordability and Student Success . . .
EVERYTHING in the academic library is selected and curated to serve the purposes of affordability and student success
Resources – books, ebooks, academic journals, videos, databases, 3D printers, scanners, laser cutters, and all other technologies, but most importantly . . .
Librarians! Where else can you find a person with the breadth and depth of knowledge, experience, and expertise, willing to devote their time to YOU for FREE?

4. Libraries and Textbooks
Up to mid-20th century, many academic libraries held textbooks
Budget cuts typically forced academic libraries to cease purchasing textbooks
Today, many academic libraries have policies explicitly excluding textbooks from library purchases
Instead, academic libraries depend on teaching faculty to provide copies to be placed on reserve

5. Existing Opportunities for Libraries
Maximize value and usage of e-resources

6. New Opportunities for Libraries
Work with academic departments to identify alternatives to commercial textbooks
Case Study
Community College Anatomy & Physiology Course
Gateway course for nursing program
Healthcare is highest employer in the region
Highest Enrollment Course
Highest DFW Rate – 61% in Fall 2014
Cost of Course Textbook -- $405 in Fall 2014
Spring Library Provided All OpenStax Textbooks on Reserve for Faculty Review
Fall 2015 – Department Opted to Switch to OpenStax Textbook
Fall 2017 DFW Rate – 30%

9. Opportunities for FALSC
FALSC’s statutory expectation – FS (2)(c)
Promote and provide recommendations concerning the use and distribution of open-access textbooks and education resources as a method for reducing costs and work with public postsecondary education institutions in developing a standardized process for the review and approval of open-access textbooks and education resources.
E-resources – databases, ebooks, etc.
Curriculum Builder
Open Textbook Network (OTN) Membership for all consortia members
On-Campus Workshops
Sponsor Attendees at OTN Summer Workshop
FALSC MCLS Standing Committee on Textbook Affordability and OER
Create Search and Discovery portal with existing resources
Configure Discovery Tool, Mango, to harvest metadata from OER resources, including The Orange Grove, Florida’s SUS and FCS Digital Repositories, OpenStax, OTN, and many others
Can build in additional functionality, such as limit search by course number, integrate faculty reviews

10. How can we leverage the power of the consortium to support student success through textbook affordability and OER?
falsc.org |