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Student Association is coordinating with Syracuse University Libraries on an ongoing initiative to improve textbook affordability for students. 

SA is working to expand students’ access to open educational resources — class materials and texts that are freely available online for public use — and provide more e-books through SU Libraries, said Ryan Golden, SA vice president. The program has been in its “beginning stages” for almost two years. 

“(The cost of textbooks) is a significant financial burden on many students, and they are integral to class,” said David Seaman, the dean of SU Libraries. “Classes are built around these materials, so you don’t really have the option of not having the textbook and whether it’s online or physical, it’s a significant cost.”

University libraries have a difficult time buying and accessing textbooks, which tends to make them more expensive, Seaman said. Publishers make money by selling individual textbooks to each student taking the class, so many will not sell textbooks to libraries because it contradicts their business model, he said. 

To mitigate some textbooks costs, SU utilizes Open Educational Resources Commons, an online program where professors and students can search textbooks and other materials based on the title, subject area and education level. Textbook authors can publish their work on the site to offer quality textbooks at a reasonable price, Seaman said.

SU Libraries’ goal is to urge faculty to use more textbooks available on the resources commons so students don’t have to spend as much money on a list of textbooks every semester.

“We’re not in the business of telling the faculty what to use in the classroom, but if they’re unaware or if the individual doesn’t know these things are there, it might be helpful to put them into the mix of options,” Seaman said.

But since writers profit from textbook sales, authors are hesitant to publish their work on publicly accessible platforms like resources commons, Seaman said. 

“It’s a difficult question because you are really asking someone to give up something of real value, for something else of real value,” he said. “It would come down to that individual professor’s sense of mission.”

Affordable textbook options for science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes are SA’s first priority, Golden said. While many students can find their classes’ readings online, STEM courses usually use traditional textbooks rather than materials that are easily accessible virtually or at the library. 

As a religion major, many of Golden’s required readings for class are texts, such as the Bible, rather than traditional textbooks.

Two years since SA launched the initiative, Golden said the organization is on a “fact-finding mission” for how to make textbooks more affordable to students. The next step is to promote different options the library has to faculty and students, Seaman said. 

“This is the beginning of a student-led campus conversation around this topic,” Seaman said. “I’m sure there’ll be lots of interest — not just for the library, but for the faculty, too — in having that conversation.”

Published on November 8, 2020 at 9:43 pm

Contact Kailey: kmnorusi@syr.edu