“And we also have it online”: cultivating an etextbook collection in a community college library

Abstract

This case study details how a community college library, in response to rising textbook costs and Covid-related closures, advocated for and received an increase in funding to provide online copies of many textbooks in its reserve collection. It also provides a glimpse into the roadblocks acquisitions librarians might encounter in trying to bolster online textbook collections, such as licensing issues, expense, and loan periods. The initiative resulted in a major expansion of access to etextbooks, particularly lower undergraduate titles from large textbook publishers. The new etextbooks varied greatly in popularity. Circulation statistics of print textbooks are presented along with usage data for etextbooks for the first year of this initiative. Initial statistics illustrate the potential popularity of etextbooks and also show the need for further investigation about which disciplines are best served by etextbook access, and how best to raise awareness of these titles for professors as well as students.

Keywords:

• etextbooks
• library acquisitions
• reserves
• textbooks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).