Staff members at Keith & Shirley Campbell Library are actively working to encourage faculty who assign expensive textbooks to place personal copies—or scanned chapters—of their physical books on reserve so that students can use them in the library. Selected book chapters are also being made available through Blackboard so that students need not purchase an entire book in order to read a small portion of it.
During the spring 2016 semester, 37 faculty members and five full departments —Chemistry, College Composition, Public Relations, Biology and Nursing—placed a total 209 items on reserve.
Why should YOU place YOUR required readings on reserve?
The steep costs of an education are not limited simply to tuition. Housing, food, transportation, and textbook costs do influence student enrollment rates at colleges and universities. In fact, the United States Public Interest Research Group [USPIRG] released a study in early 2016 strongly suggesting a connection between the increased cost of textbooks and the increased amount of accrued student loan debt at the time of graduation for students, in general.
“Covering the Cost,” reports on the findings of a survey taken by nearly 5,000 students from 132 institutions. In its results, the USPIRG survey finds that roughly 30% of students use financial aid to purchase textbooks. And, of those using financial aid to purchase their textbooks, students spend more than $300 each semester on average.
Help reduce the burden of student loan debt for your students! Access the reserves request form here!