E-Textbooks

With the cost of textbooks soaring, many colleges and universities are looking to alternatives to the traditional paper text. The electronic textbook field is still emerging, and higher education is experimenting with the concept in various modes. Explore this resource site—a collection of all EDUCAUSE resources related to E-Textbooks.

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 E-Text Pilots

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 are implementing a series of e-text pilot efforts with colleges and universities to evaluate technologies and business models in the fast evolving migration from traditional textbooks to electronic content. Learn More >

E-Texts Constituent Group

Intended for general discussion in addition to news about the pilot, the E-Texts Constituent Group discusses the rapidly evolving domain of digital textbooks, multimedia supplements, tutorial websites, e-reader/annotation software, and related materials. Learn More >

New Resources

7 Things You Should Know About the Evolution of the Textbook, ELI 7 Things, April 2012. This resource examines a new breed of rich-media publishing tools that offer an evolving set of opportunities both for the creation process and for the kinds of resources that can be produced.
Developing a Digital Textbook Strategy for Your Campus, Florida Distance Learning Consortium, February 2012. This one-day symposium examined institution and state level digital textbook initiatives, including national trends and prevailing models for both publisher digital textbooks and open textbooks.
eTexts: A Perishable Opportunity for Higher Education?, EDUCAUSE Live!, January 24, 2012 - This EDUCAUSE Live! program addressd the strategic, business, and policy implications for institutions in light of a changing world of consumer electronics and new models for digital educational resources such as eTexts, website tutorials, and other licensed content.

Articles, Papers, and Reports

A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, December 2011. In preparation for campus-wide e-text adoption, Daytona State College completed a two-year comparative study of four textbook distribution models: print purchase, print rental, e-text rental, and e-text rental with e-reader device.
Digital Texts and the Future of Education: Why Books?, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, March 2011. Abilene Christian University and GYLO partnered to investigate student attitudes and perceptions of the impact of using a mobile device as a supplemental tool for teaching statistics.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing, ELI 7 Things, March 2011. Open textbooks can be offered by commercial publishers or found in open repositories. Open resources can promote active learning through student interaction with the text, particularly when they contribute to authorship.
A Cover to Cover Solution: How Open Textbooks are the Path to Textbook Affordability, Student PIRGs, September 2010. This report evaluates cost-reducing options from the traditional textbook market—rentals, e-books and e-readers—and open textbooks as potential next steps to reduce the high cost of textbooks.
E-Textbooks: “An Interesting Ride”, EDUCAUSE Review, March/April 2010. An interview conducted at the EDUCAUSE 2009 Annual Conference about the use of digital textbooks in higher education.
E-Books in Higher Education: Are We There Yet?, ECAR Research Bulletin, January 2010. This ECAR research bulletin presents an update to the rapidly changing e-book and e-textbook landscape and provides some higher education stakeholders with a clearer view of the road ahead.
A Campus-Wide E-Textbook Initiative, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, July 2009. This article focuses on the process that Northwest Missouri State University followed in studying the feasibility of transitioning from the rental of traditional textbooks to the rental of e-textbooks, along with the extensive integration of e-textbooks across the university’s academic environment.

Presentations, Podcasts, Seminars, and Videos

Got Open Textbook? ELI Online Fall Focus Session, September 2011. This session speaker discusses resource discovery, implementation issues, and the pros and cons of using open-source materials and concludes with some recommendations applicable for any stage of open-source resource adoption.
Textbook Affordability: Emerging Solutions in Ohio, ELI Web Seminar, March 2011. This webinar discusses why textbook costs have skyrocketed; how textbook costs impact students, faculty, and institutions; and current initiatives by the University System of Ohio to address textbook affordability and learning outcomes.
Digital Content in Higher Education—Practical Findings, ELI Web Seminar, March 2011. This webinar provides an overview of the digital textbook landscape as it currently exists and a glimpse into the emerging trends that will shape higher education digital content in the near future.

EDUCAUSE Staff Picks

7 Things You Should Know About the Evolution of the Textbook, ELI 7 Things, April 2012. This resource examines a new breed of rich-media publishing tools that offer an evolving set of opportunities both for the creation process and for the kinds of resources that can be produced.
eTexts: A Perishable Opportunity for Higher Education?, EDUCAUSE Live!, January 24, 2012 - This EDUCAUSE Live! program addressd the strategic, business, and policy implications for institutions in light of a changing world of consumer electronics and new models for digital educational resources such as eTexts, website tutorials, and other licensed content.
A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, December 2011. In preparation for campus-wide e-text adoption, Daytona State College completed a two-year comparative study of four textbook distribution models: print purchase, print rental, e-text rental, and e-text rental with e-reader device.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing, ELI 7 Things, March 2011. Open textbooks can be offered by commercial publishers or found in open repositories. Open resources can promote active learning through student interaction with the text, particularly when they contribute to authorship.

Library Items on this Topic

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EDUCAUSE Library Items for E-Textbooks

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ECPA Reform Update: February 11, 2013

Recording of the January 29, 2013 call with Greg Nojeim, Senior Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) reform and its implication…
A Comparison of the 2012 Republican and Democratic Platforms on Internet, Broadband, and Information Technology Policies: September 11, 2012

This document provides a summary of the 2012 Republican and Democratic Platforms, starting with a look at their overall approach to these areas, and then looking more closely at specific issues r…
A Case for Fair Use: The Georgia State Decision (5/15/12): May 18, 2012

This policy brief summarizes the long-awaited opinion released May 11, 2012 in the Georgia State University e-reserves copyright infringement case, and provides analysis of what this means for h…
PIPA and SOPA Chronology: How We Got Where We Are Today (1/23/12): January 23, 2012

Two bills introduced in 2011, the Senate’s Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), would have direct and potentially negative implications for our campus communit…
That Was The Year That Was, 2011: January 9, 2012

So, what did the EDUCAUSE Policy group in Washington do in 2011? In general, we did what we've always done: worked closely with our campus constituents to understand and provide assistance…
How PIPA Would Affect Colleges and Universities (July 5, 2011): July 5, 2011

This EDUCAUSE Policy Analysis and Advocacy Program Policy Brief focuses on S. 968, Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (S. 968), also…
Higher Education’s Perspective on Telecommunications Reform: May 1, 2005

Americans depend on the Internet to learn, create, work, conduct business and communicate. This "central nervous system of the information economy" directly enables innovation, producti…
Dealing With the Higher Education Opportunity Act's New Copyright Protection Requirements: November 20, 2009

Memorandum from the office of Zick Rubin concerning how colleges and universities should deal with the Higher Education Opportunity Act's new copyright protection requirements. …
Update on the Economic Recovery Package: February 24, 2009

This is an EDUCAUSE written summary of how The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, may pertain to the higher education information tec…
Broadband’s Promise for America: May 15, 2008

A graphic description, in pamphlet form, describing broadband technologies and uses and the bandwidth required for each, plus a depiction of the “All-Internet Household” and how a family migh…