Lasting Changes on Etextbook Acquisitions for Textbook Affordability due to COVID-19

Abstract

When the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley University Library started purchasing etextbooks for required courses in 2018, we were one of the few in the UT System who had an explicit program. Now, it’s becoming a more common practice for libraries to put funds usually reserved for course reserves or other faculty requests into ebooks. As COVID began to shut down our physical operations we began to receive a large influx of etextbook requests from faculty. Luckily, the library had a student savings tracking process in place for required etextbook purchases, and a fund designated for these purchases. The strong relationship between Collection Development and Scholarly Communications prior to the influx of new requests made adapting to this influx relatively orderly.

Keywords

• textbook affordability
• etextbooks
• collection development
• quality education