Last year, thanks to our generous donors, the University Library raised more than $7,000 for initiatives that help students succeed. For the second year in a row, we are focusing on the issue of textbook affordability to expand our work in this area. The University Library has been working on an innovative program in which we rent the most expensive and frequently used textbooks assigned and reserve them for students to use in the library. In addition to electronic and physical books already in the library collection, students are feeling the impact.
During the 2018-19 academic year, 223 courses were supported with a total course enrollment of 8,464 students. Based on these numbers, the potential student savings was $1,531,885! Also, in the last year, the library has expanded its work to enable “zero-cost courses.” This means that the cost of course materials to students enrolled in these courses is nothing. The library uses data from the university bookstore to purchase assigned textbooks as library ebooks that students can access digitally through Cougar Courses. For the fall 2019 semester, the library acquired 87 unlimited license ebooks to support 133 course sections, resulting in additional savings for students of approximately $179,070!
Library champions Carolyn and Tom McGurn have pledged to match gifts to the University Library up to $5,000. Even if you cannot donate at this time, simply sharing the message with someone who can might make a difference.
"All students deserve to be able to access course texts. The high costs of textbooks and other course materials prohibit access and perpetuate inequity. The library is committed to partnering with faculty to reduce the cost of textbooks and other required course materials and supports the Cougars Affordable Learning Materials (CALM) initiative."