11 Easy Ways Faculty Can Make Textbooks More Affordable
Posted December 10, 2024 in Featured News, General Collections News, JMU Libraries News, Open Education News
Textbook costs are a serious issue for many JMU students. According to a Spring 2024 survey, 39% of JMU students chose not to enroll in a class due to the cost of textbooks and 30% of students said they take fewer courses due to the cost of textbooks.
Here are 11 ways you can help!
1. Find out if JMU Libraries has a copy of your assigned text.
If so, provide students with a link to the resource. Click “Permalink,” then “Copy the Permalink to Clipboard,” then share the link on Canvas or in your syllabus.
2. Limit checkout times on our high-demand books.
Use this form to shorten checkout times to 4 hours or 4 days through Course Reserves. This makes it easier for your students to take turns using the same library book.
3. Ask us to digitize your assigned text.
Upon request, we can digitize some items for students to use through Digital Course Reserves.
4. Place personal copies of items on Course Reserve.
Bring or mail the items to the JMU Libraries location where you want them to be on reserve. You’ll get the items back when the semester is over.
5. Ask us to purchase a book to put on Course Reserve.
If your assigned text is not in JMU’s collection, you can contact reserves@jmu.edu to ask that the text be considered for purchase. If the textbook is not for Course Reserves, please contact your department’s liaison librarian instead.
6. Tell students about Interlibrary Loan.
Most items not in our collection can be borrowed using Interlibrary Loan. While ILL cannot always replace purchasing a text because checkout times or availability limits, it may meet a short-term need.
7. Let students use an older edition of your assigned text.
You may be able to cut textbook costs in half by allowing students to use a previous version. If you only need one chapter from the newest edition, we may be able to scan it for you to share with your class.
8. Review an open textbook for $200.
Take our self-paced workshop, Get Started Using Open Textbooks, to learn about open textbooks and write a review of an open textbook for a $200 stipend. JMU instructors have already saved students over $1.5 million in total course material costs by choosing to assign open educational resources (OER), and you might decide to join the effort.
9. Mark your course as “No/Low Cost.”
If your course materials total $40 or less at the JMU Bookstore, alert the relevant staff in your department so they can add this info to Course Scheduler. Doing so will allow students to find your class when they filter for classes with “No/Low-Cost Course Materials” in MyMadison.
10. Reach out to our Open Education Librarian.
Liz Thompson can help you find high-quality free or affordable course materials and more.
11. Let your students know we can help!
Share our infographic for students in your syllabus or Canvas announcements. Please let students know they can Ask the Library if they need help accessing a text.
Learn more
In JMU Libraries, we’re working hard to make textbooks more freely available for JMU students. Visit our website or check this recent JMU News story to learn more about how we promote Open Educational Resources at JMU.