College textbooks are pricy — and getting pricier.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index puts the average cost of a textbook at $236.18, a steep incline from the $100 students paid for the average textbook in 2001. Meanwhile, the American Association of Colleges and Universities cites data indicating that the cost of textbooks his risen much more steeply than costs of other goods and services: 162%, as compared to an average rate of inflation of 74%, between 2000 and 2022.
Lucy Duhon is an associate professor and scholarly communications librarian for University Libraries.
University Libraries are taking steps to combat the high cost of textbooks.
Lucy Duhon, associate professor and scholarly communications librarian for University Libraries, recently completed an eight-month course through the Open Education Network, equipping her to guide instructors in transitioning away from pricy commercial textbooks and toward a slew of free-to-student course materials called open educational resources.
“Textbook affordability is an issue of equity when it comes to our students,” said Thomas Atwood, dean of University Libraries. “The high cost of course materials creates a significant barrier to student success, and we are committed to doing everything we can to mitigate those costs so that students can thrive at UToledo.”
Open educational resources (OERs) are high-quality, free-of-cost, public domain, open and adaptable educational resources that are generally housed in digital repositories.
An example is the Ohio Open Ed Collective, which currently hosts materials for high-enrollment courses ranging from calculus to economics to American history.
“There are a lot of resources available in these repositories that faculty can peruse to find materials to replace the commercial textbooks they currently use in their courses. OERs are also adaptable, which means that instructors can use the materials they find in full or in part and adjust the content to align with their courses,” Duhon said. “The certification course that I recently completed prepared me to assist instructors in this process, which we know can be daunting if you’re not familiar with this class of resources.”
Duhon was one of nine librarians selected by OhioLINK, the state’s academic library consortium and a division of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, to complete the certification program in open education librarianship between January and September.
Their cohort was funded by OhioLINK and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact.
In a 10-week online course followed by five months of synchronous cohort meetings, the librarians explored the intricacies of OERs, including how to find them, how to adapt them and how to advocate for their adoption on their respective campuses.
Duhon completed the course by putting together an action plan applicable to UToledo that identifies ways to increase awareness among students and instructors and how to support instructors who are interested in adopting them.
A library guide already compiles numerous resources on the University Libraries website.
OERs join other efforts within University Libraries to combat the high cost of textbooks, including the availability of multiuser electronic books and a course reserve program through which instructors can make library resources available to their classes.
OERs are a focus under the OhioLINK initiative Affordable Learning Ohio. OhioLINK has been offering Affordable Learning Course Redesign Grants since 2022, aimed at supporting faculty in their efforts to adopt open educational resources.
Duhon and her cohort bring the total number of consortium librarians currently certified in open education librarianship to 18. OhioLINK plans to support a new two-librarian cohort to begin the certification course in 2025.
“Librarians understand available resources and are experts at connecting students and faculty with material that meets their needs,” said OhioLINK Affordable Learning Director Anna Bendo. “Working with faculty to facilitate switching to OER and library-owned ‘free to student’ teaching resources is very helpful because it takes time that faculty — many of which are adjuncts — just don’t have.”
