Open Access Textbooks

I am taking a free, non-credit course through P2PU.org on Open Access Textbooks. Many colleges, especially community colleges, are trying to deal with a crisis in textbook costs. I was down by our bookstore at the beginning of the semester and overheard some students comparing receipts. Someone had spent over $1000. Textbooks can be a real burden to some students, and financial aid doesn't always cover books and supplies.

One possible method of assistance is open access textbooks. I am hoping to learn more sources of textbooks, how instructors are using them, and how to "sell" the idea of an open textbook to faculty.

I will be giving two workshops through Faculty Development this semester, one on publishing via open access, and one on open educational resources. I've assembled an open access resource guide: http://libguides.southernct.edu/openaccess and I'm focusing my attention this semester on teaching materials and textbooks (mostly under the Books category). Some of the sites I have listed may not meet stringent qualifications for open access, but if it's freely accessible, legal, and of educational use, I'm willing to include it.

For any faculty reading this, I would be very interested in working with you if you'd like to consider open access for your courses. Just contact me.

Buying textbooks online

I get this question a lot: Where can I buy textbooks besides the bookstore? (i.e. the bookstore is sold out, hasn't gotten my book yet, has no used copies, I can't get to campus, etc.)

OK, here is a not very carefully compiled list of online places to buy or find textbooks. This list is not comprehensive. I'm not recommending any of these sites. A lot of these are comparison sites, so there will be a lot of repetition. You might save money and/or time, or you might not. I generally find that buying from actual bookstores is more expensive but the shipping is faster. Buying from individuals can mean excellent prices, but delays in shipping, no matter how much you pay for "express shipping". (It doesn't get to you fast if they take 2 weeks to get it to FedEx.) Be sure to check for ISBN's, editions, and correct authors (there are hundreds of books called "Microbiology"). You might want to ask your professor about using an older edition.

And, of course, it never hurts to check your local libraries; just remember that most libraries do not buy textbooks by policy, though they may end up with some as gifts or because it's a generally useful book besides being used as a textbook. You can also ask your professor to put a copy of the book on reserve (assuming that "I can't get to campus" isn't the reason you are reading this.)

All that said, here's the list. Feel free to add other recommended sites in the comments.

A1books.com
Abebooks.com
Addall.com
Alibris.com
Amazon.com
Biblio.com
Bigwords.com
BN.com
Bookfinder.com
Bookmarc.com
Bookmooch.com
Booksprice.com
Campusbooks.com
Campusbookswap.com
Campusi.com
Chegg.com (rentals)
Directtextbook.com
Ecampus.com
Half.com (half.ebay.com)
Isbn.nu
Ichapters.com (online ebooks by chapter)
Smartbookfinder.com
Textbookflix.com (rentals)
Valorebooks.com