The Ohio State University Libraries continuously explores ways to provide access to affordable, high-quality course content. However, many textbook publishers do not provide purchasing options for electronic content to libraries. Approximately 85% of existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries to purchase in any format other than print. Textbook publishers have built their profit models around selling e-textbooks directly to students; however, the cost of textbooks and other course materials represent a major financial hurdle for Ohio State students.
University Libraries is committed to developing new approaches to acquiring textbooks that would allow us to provide access to all required textbooks and course materials to assist those students who are unable to purchase their own. We work with instructors to explore and identify viable textbook alternatives, including e-books, open educational resources (OERs), CarmenBooks, streaming media, journal articles available through University Libraries subscriptions and considerations for fair use of supplemental materials.
In those instances where publishers do not offer content to libraries to be made available to users electronically, students may have to purchase these materials, or explore alternative ways of accessing them through other programs like CarmenBooks at a reduced cost.
e-Books
Through University Libraries, you and your class have access to over 1,726,193 e-books! It is important to note that there are different leasing models for e-books if you decide to use one for your course: some allow for single users, while others allow multiple, simultaneous users. If you plan to use an e-book in your course, be sure to contact Emily Smock, Educational Resources Assistant to ensure adequate access.
When an e-book is available for library purchase, University Libraries prefers to purchase licenses with unlimited user and Digital Rights Management (DRM)-free options, but will get the best option available. Some titles are only available with user limits and restrictions, such as only one or three simultaneous users and limits on download. Curricular course requests are usually processed within a day, but some requests that require licensing and/or accessibility reviews may take longer to fulfill. It is ideal to provide a two-week lead time to secure an e-book for your course.
Keep in mind there are many academic e-books that are not considered textbooks and are therefore available for Libraries to purchase. When ordering a title, University Libraries’ preferred format is the e-book version unless print is deemed necessary. To determine if a resource is a good fit for your class, or for help finding alternative titles, please reach out to your subject liaison or Amanda Larson, Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant.
Open Educational Resources
Adopting an open educational resource (OER) is another viable option. OERs are freely available educational materials that are openly licensed to allow for re-use and modification by instructors. If you would like to have a course consultation to incorporate OER into your course, please contact Amanda Larson, Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant.
CarmenBooks
CarmenBooks allows textbook-publisher curricular resources to be delivered directly into CarmenCanvas through a partnership with RedShelf, which negotiates significant savings for students (up to 80% off retail price). For more information, or to get started with CarmenBooks next semester, send an email to carmenbooks@osu.edu. Be sure to include your course name and current textbook information (title, edition, publisher, etc.). A member of the CarmenBooks support team will work with you to see if CarmenBooks is the right fit for your course.
Streaming Media
University Libraries is committed to providing access to high-quality streaming videos to instructors across Ohio State. We provide streaming video from multiple academic providers (Kanopy, Films on Demand, Alexander Street, Swank Digital Campus, etc.) that instructors can browse by title, genre, subject, and keyword. This guide can provide you with more details on finding and using streaming video through Libraries. Don’t see a specific title needed for a course? University Libraries also works with individual rights holders and other relevant content distributors to make films available upon request regardless of platform; those requests can be made at go.osu.edu/streamingvideo. Like textbooks, please note that not all films are available to Libraries for licensing. For example, Disney or Netflix streaming subscriptions may have exclusive rights to some content, or a particular film may not be available for streaming at all. If you have any questions regarding the curricular licensing of streaming video resources, please contact Aaron Olivera, Collection Development Coordinator.
Fair Use
Fair use is an exception in copyright law allowing the use of copyrighted materials without permission for certain purposes, including many educational uses. In lieu of the availability to obtain licensed access to curricular resources, instructors may be able to rely on fair use for sharing specific sections of works in an educational setting. Copyright Services is available to help answer questions on the factors to consider for a fair use analysis; please contact libcopyright@osu.edu. More information on fair use can be found at Copyright Services.
Need help?
As always, if you need assistance with finding materials for your course, please contact your subject librarian or specialist librarian. A librarian can help you navigate through options for articles, data, images, e-books, streaming media and OER in your field.
Thank you to our colleagues at University of Guelph Libraries for allowing us to adapt their language with permission.
The Affordable Learning Working Group