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

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

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?

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

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

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 2014 - Library Provided All OpenStax Textbooks on Reserve for Faculty Review Fall 2015 – Department Opted to Switch to OpenStax Textbook Fall 2017 DFW Rate – 30%

Opportunities for FALSC FALSC’s statutory expectation – FS 1006.73(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

How can we leverage the power of the consortium to support student success through textbook affordability and OER? falsc.org | www.facebook.com/goFALSC