Ohio State libraries leading charge for affordable textbooks

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Ohio State libraries leading charge for affordable textbooks

Programs help instructors find lower-cost resources

Last year, the average college student spent $285 on course materials, including books, according to BestColleges.com. That cost can be prohibitive to student success, said Amanda Larson, Affordable Educational Resources Initiative (AERI) program coordinator for University Libraries at The Ohio State University.

A student may drop or fail a class without the proper materials. They may settle for an outdated version of the current textbook. The issue is a personal one for Larson.

"Throughout University Libraries, there are a lot of us who struggled to afford our books as students," she said. "When I was an undergraduate student, I had to use a book voucher from my financial aid, which limited my shopping options to just the campus bookstore. I couldn't go somewhere cheaper."

While affordability has been a longtime university focus, the AERI program rolled out at the beginning of this year. There are many options available for professors who are interested in lowering costs for their classes. Two of the more popular choices, Larson said, are CarmenBooks and syllabus review grants.

CarmenBooks offers digital copies of selected textbooks and access to publisher homework systems at significantly reduced pricing. This year, program participation has increased by 80%, resulting in more than 142,000 titles used and more than $7 million in savings for students.

Lauren Hensley, former interim director of the Dennis Learning Center in the College of Education and Human Ecology, used CarmenBooks to find cheaper resources for two classes: Learning and Motivation Strategies for College Success and Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner.

"We wanted to provide textbook access to students from day one," said Hensley, now director of holistic advising at Ohio Wesleyan University. "This shift kept students on the same page with course concepts and assignments, without falling behind while waiting for a book to arrive or attempting to complete the course without the textbook at all due to financial constraints."

"Our inclusive access program is different because we're really focused on saving students money through course material costs," Larson said. "We will tell instructors when we've found their textbook at a lower price and how to acquire those materials. If we can find it cheaper, we will."

Syllabus review grants partner instructors with a library liaison to review course materials and recommend alternatives to decrease the cost of learning materials for students by at least 25%. This year, the grants impacted 600 students, saving them nearly $60,000.

"We want to incentivize instructors to do extra work," Larson said of the $750 grant. "We're basically asking them to do a course revision off-cycle. It's a heavy lift."

LiJuan Bi, lecturer at The Ohio State University Newark, used a grant for her algebra course materials. Her reason for applying was simple.

"It helps save money for our students," she said.

With librarian help, Bi was able to find a free, public replacement for her class. She estimates each student saved more than $100 as a result.

"The librarians were very helpful," she said. "They provided guidance and assured me that the changes I made were beneficial to our students."

Resource affordability is a priority for University Libraries, Larson said.

"There are students at Ohio State who struggle to get their textbooks every semester," she said. "That matters to us, and it matters at the administrative level of the libraries, too. It's reassuring to know that this work is appreciated from the top down."

In many cases, professors don't know the cost of their materials, Larson said. And while she can't do anything about the cost of educational resources themselves, she can help professors find more affordable options.

"We are student-centered at the end of the day," she said. "How do we make education more accessible to students? With textbooks, that's one place where we can help."

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