Education for all! My experience with three programs to engage teaching faculty and connect students with affordable textbooks

Abstract

In these times of uncertainty, an education is even more important for wise decision-making and life-long success. But education is notoriously expensive and access to good quality educational materials can be prohibitively costly or impossible to readily identify. In the United States, the high cost of college or university is compounded by expensive and required textbooks. Students who cannot afford these textbooks struggle significantly to complete their education. As a result, many institutions have experimented with initiatives to reduce or eliminate textbook costs. This poster will illustrate three initiatives from my perspective as a participating Life Sciences Librarian, their advantages and their challenges. The first initiative is a state-wide effort to review and enhance an openly available eBook for an introductory biology course. The second is the use of library funds to buy textbooks as multi-licensed eBooks. The third is a grant for a Molecular Genetics instructor to replace the for-profit textbook with openly available materials. Depending on the available resources, one or more of these programs may be implemented at various institutions.