Today: Nov 03, 2024

Alternative options to textbooks

By Taylor Green

Contributor

Textbooks can weigh students down both physically and financially.

Computer science major Johanna Sampedro, a sophomore, said she spent $230 on textbooks between only two courses, one of which was a genetics textbook that alone cost $127. 

Sports management major Hannah McGuire, a sophomore, said she tries to get her textbooks second-hand, but can not always find what her course requires, leaving her to spend more than she would like to. 

“I spent close to $350 one semester,” said McGuire said. “Prices are ridiculous, absolutely crazy.” 

Students such as Sampedro and McGuire face struggles each semester with high-priced textbooks that extend beyond their budget. 

Demonstrated in the 2021 Legislative Report of the Connecticut Open Educational Resources Coordinating Council: “Between 1978 and 2019, textbook prices increased more than three times inflation: +812%.” 

With textbook prices on the rise, there is an alternative to purchasing and renting materials: Open Educational Resources.  

According to Research Librarian Susan Clerc, OER are textbooks and materials that students can access for free as long as faculty creates and shares them online, whether it be at the university or elsewhere. 

Students can access materials for free through Buley Library’s webpage. 

The 2021 Legislative Report of the Connecticut Open Educational Resources Coordinating Council states: “According to a survey of 28 CT institutions, OER saved students $2.8 million last year.” 

Students who have access to OER have free access to their resources, saving them hundreds of dollars. 

Although, not all textbooks and tools can be accessed for free, as Clerc explained, it depends on the professor and faculty; if they do not provide the materials, then students cannot access them as OER. 

Despite that, there are other ways to access textbooks at the university. 

In the Buley Library, there is a section of textbooks on the first floor that are free to use for a short period of time 

Additionally, professors can put textbooks on reserve at Buley Library for their students to use and access throughout the semester.  

Buley Library may not have every textbook, but other students can help increase the selection of books to support future generations of students to come. 

“We can’t afford to actually buy the textbooks for every class,” Clerc said. “They change every year, and we need multiple copies. But, people can donate the textbooks, and we can make them available.” 

The textbook section of the library is an alternative option to purchasing textbooks to save money, but also to help others if students have a spare textbook lying around from past semesters that they no longer need. 

Clerc explained that students can visit the library’s front desk for questions or assistance on these textbooks, especially with students spending hundreds on them already. 

Students already spend between $12,000 to $26,000 on tuition, yet are additionally required to spend more on textbooks. 

Students can decide to purchase textbooks or choose an alternative option of OER and accessible textbooks at Buley Library. 

“Textbooks are ridiculously expensive,” Clerc said, “and shouldn’t be.” 

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