The first step in providing access to textbooks is learning what materials are assigned in courses. Staff within OEG receive textbook information in two primary ways: a list from the campus bookstore and course reserve requests from faculty. We check to see which assigned texts are already available through the Libraries<\/a> and which additional materials are available for purchase. When possible, we prefer to buy ebooks that multiple users can access at a time, though we will also buy single-user ebooks if no multi-user license is available or if it is prohibitively expensive. The reserves staff will also buy print books when no ebook is available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the university\u2019s current tight budget, it is important for the Libraries to see that our spending is having an impact. OEG regularly reviews data on the usage of textbooks and uses this to estimate how much money students are saving by accessing their textbooks through the Libraries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A previous blog post<\/a> explained how we estimate the savings. Student workers collect information from the campus bookstore about textbook prices, and we multiply this by either<\/em> the number of students enrolled in the class or<\/em> the number of times the book was used during the semester, or whichever is lower. To understand why the calculation sometimes uses enrollment and sometimes usage, imagine a book that was used fifty times, although the class that assigned it had only twenty students enrolled. At most the Libraries have saved twenty students the cost of buying the book. Now imagine the same book was only used five times, despite there being twenty students required to use it for class. At most only five students used the library copy as an alternative to purchasing the book, so we\u2019d multiply the price by five. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With hundreds of textbooks available through the Libraries each semester, the total estimated savings can be large. In the last three years, the Libraries have delivered between $659,000 and $858,000 in estimated annual student savings from offering electronic copies of their textbooks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking print reserves into account brings the number even higher. While we prefer to provide e-reserves, and faculty sometimes worry that students won\u2019t come to the library to borrow a print book, the data shows that print reserves are still heavily used. The most-used reserve book in fall 2025, College<\/em> Algebra with Intermediate Algebra<\/em>, was checked out 1,954 times last semester! With a total enrollment of 1,177 and a price of $327.50, this textbook saved students an estimated $385,467.50 in just one semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The savings estimates make a case that offering textbooks is a worthwhile use of library funds. In the 2024-25 academic year, Charles Library spent $6,291 on new purchases of etextbooks, which comprised only 1.4% of that year\u2019s monograph spending. Estimated savings from these new purchases alone were $19,349. Between 2023 and 2025, the savings to students from new purchases have been three to four times the amount the Libraries has spent. This is a significant return on investment! <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the graph shows, spending in AY2024-25 was lower than the previous two years. In part, this is because the list of assigned texts was shorter than in the past. Temple switched to a new bookstore company in summer 2024, and the company initially found that fewer faculty were reporting their textbook adoptions. Also, the spring 2025 list included a higher than usual percentage of titles had no ebook available for purchase. Though the savings to students due to the Libraries\u2019 purchases of etextbooks were lower, savings were still more than three times what the Libraries spent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For a variety of reasons<\/a> we are not always able to provide electronic access to assigned texts. Traditional textbook publishers often don\u2019t make their books available to libraries as ebooks, and in some cases the ebooks cost so much more than the print that they are not viable options for us. The Libraries are typically able to provide access to approximately a third of assigned texts as ebooks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another challenge for the group is the surprising number of library-licensed etextbooks that do not get used. Each semester, between 14% and 24% of etextbooks show no usage. In fall 2022, OEG began using a mail merge to notify each faculty member that the library had an electronic copy of their textbook that students could use for free. This seemed to decrease the number of etextbooks that went unused, which had previously been as high as 68%, but the number is still puzzlingly high. We wonder if students are using pirated copies of their textbooks, or if those who can afford to buy print prefer that format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone in the library can have a role in amplifying the work of OEG. Many different interactions with faculty could be opportunities to promote the Textbook Affordability Project<\/a>, a grant award that supports faculty in redesigning courses to have zero textbook costs. We accept applications each year in early spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If students have questions about textbook availability, library staff can point them to our webpage of Etextbooks available through the Libraries<\/a>. When the Libraries don\u2019t have access to an etextbook, OEG encourages our colleagues to share whatever information they can gather about students\u2019 textbook-related needs. We\u2019d be glad to contact these students\u2019 professors to encourage them to put course materials on reserve. The more information the Libraries can share with faculty and students, and the more we can learn about what students need, the better we can help. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post was contributed by Karen Kohn and describes her work with the Open Education Group (Kristina De Voe, Lead and Members: Karen, Courtney Eger, Ella Lathan Maia Janssen and Andrew Diamond) Every semester, Temple University Libraries purchases textbooks for students to … Continue reading Estimating Savings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nReturn on Investment <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShortcomings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Expanding our Impact <\/h2>\n\n\n\n