This year, students at Susquehanna University have expressed their concerns with how much book prices have gone up in the past few years.
Students and faculty have been working together to find a solution to the problem and are promoting the idea for Open Textbooks. Open Textbooks have an open license which allows professors to use and modify existing resources. This then gives them the ability to share it with students, giving them free or low cost access to them. Accessibility is important, as these resources are available through a web browser, pdf, kindle/iBooks, and even print.
Over the last 35 years, textbook costs have gone up by 812%, and students are the ones really feeling the pain. Just here from some of our students here at SU:
In an attempt to bring awareness to this issue, the Blough-Weis Library is participating in Open Education Week. The goal of this week is to “…raise awareness and showcase impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide.”
With these new advancements on the horizon the Blough-Weis Library has done multiple things to get the word out. They’ve held information sessions in the Degenstein Campus Center for students to learn about open textbooks. They’ve also held workshops for faculty; and supported faculty who have been doing textbook reviews in the Open Textbook Library.
On March 5th, the library will be hosting another workshop for faculty to continue searching for open resources for any of their courses.
For more information on #openedweek or open textbooks visit https://www.openeducationweek.org/
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