As we approach the Fall 2020 semester, Loyola University Chicago Libraries staff are committed to providing alternative access to our print Course Reserves collection. To support instructors and students, we are developing new approaches to how we acquire course textbooks, even in a primarily online, alternative delivery environment.
However, this work is hampered by textbook publishers who do not provide electronic purchasing options for libraries. Approximately 85% of existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in a format other than print. This means that in courses that have adopted textbooks by these publishers, students who do not purchase the textbook will not have any alternative access to the textbook content from the Libraries.
We are working with instructors to explore and identify viable textbook alternatives. Faculty can make purchase requests for e-books by contacting the subject specialist librarian for their school or department, or by submitting a request via the library website.
For more information on the steps we are taking, and a list of publishers that pose challenges for libraries, please see our Statement on Commercial Textbook Challenges for Online Instruction.
