Guest Post by Karen Kohn, Collections Analysis Librarian, on behalf of the Open Education Group at Temple University Libraries.
Why the Libraries Provide Textbooks
Paying for textbooks is frequently a source of stress for students. A 2023 study of Pennsylvania college students found that 81% were worried about textbook costs. Temple University Libraries want to help! One key initiative within Temple University Libraries is our practice of purchasing ebook copies of required and recommended course texts whenever possible, ensuring these resources are freely available to Temple students.
In the 2025-26 academic year, library-licensed etextbooks saved students an estimated $586,000. The impact of etextbooks is especially notable in the Intellectual Heritage courses, for which the Libraries were able to provide access to 31 out of 86 assigned books last fall, benefitting 3,865 students in 145 sections! The table below shows some additional examples of course texts held by the Libraries that potentially saved students a significant amount. For information on how the Libraries estimate savings, see this blog post.
| Course | Book Title | Used Print Price | Enrolled Students (Fall 2025 – Summer 2026) | Estimated Savings (Fall 2025 – Summer 2026) |
| CHEM 3103 | Quantitative Chemical Analysis | $88.75 | 83 | $7,366 |
| EES 2021/2022 | Sedimentary Geology | $269.25 | 42 | $2,258 |
| IH 0852/0952 | Braiding Sweetgrass | $16.50 | 3,031 | $30,805 |
| IH 0851/0951 | The Daodejing of Laozi | $14.25 | 3,562 | $25,968 |
| EDAD 0855 | What the Best College Students Do | $15.02 | 394 | $8,234 |
Check the Etextbooks Available Through the Libraries page to find your course and see if your textbook is on the list! We also recommend looking for the Course Reserves tab in Canvas to see if your instructor has made other course materials available to you via the library.
Challenges in Providing Electronic Textbooks
The number of ebooks that the Libraries acquire each semester varies, as not all textbooks are available in electronic format. Textbook publishers such as Pearson or Cengage usually do not license ebooks to libraries. In 2025-26, the Libraries were able to offer access to 31% of course texts.
When an ebook is available to the Libraries for purchase, we try to get licenses that allow multiple simultaneous users. However, in some cases, we need to acquire single-user licenses, which means the book can only be read by one person at a time. When an ebook has a single-user license, we encourage students to close out of the book when they are not actively reading it, so that it can be available for other users. It is also often possible to save a small portion of the book using the Chapter Download or Print to PDF options. This will create a personal copy that you can use without affecting the user limit.
Get Connected
Students: Have questions about whether a textbook for your Temple class is available via the Libraries? Contact us!
Faculty: When selecting materials for the spring semester, you may want to contact your subject librarian or specialist to find out if the Libraries will be able to get your texts as ebooks. We also recommend letting the bookstore know what books you are using, even if you will be recommending that students use a library copy. The Libraries rely on information from the bookstore to find out what is assigned. You can submit your textbook adoptions to Follett in TU Portal (under faculty tools).
Have questions about whether the Libraries can purchase materials for your class? Need help determining what is already available? Looking for instructions on how to link a library ebook in Canvas or place a Reserves request? Contact your subject librarian or specialist!