Chair/Lead: Sarah Quimby

Members: Karen Engler, Kurtis Gibson, Jane Campbell, Andy Prehall, Amy Rachuba

The Problem

The cost of books and other materials required for courses presents financial burdens and barriers to access for many students. The libraries seek to reduce inequities of access to course materials for students.

Goals

The goal is to increase students’ access to course materials while decreasing students’ overall expenses for course materials.

Actions Taken

The library will continue to work to educate faculty about the expenses and barriers that often accompany required course materials. Research & Instruction Librarians and other LITS staff will work with faculty to find freely available content (either open-access, OER, or library-licensed content) or low-cost alternatives to expensive textbooks.

Accomplishments so Far

1. Partnered with the Student Government Association (SGA) to catalog and manage textbooks purchased as part of the SGA affordable textbook program; 

2. Have a longstanding commitment to purchase or license digital materials that permit unlimited simultaneous use and are DRM-free

3. Include major open access collections such as DOAB, DOAJ, JSTOR Open Access Books, and OAPEN in Catalyst.