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

View All

EDUCAUSE Library Items for E-Textbooks

Showing 1 - 10 of 72 Results

Sort by:

Relevancy | Title | Date

Is Our Software Designed for Change? Successes and Challenges in Using Service Oriented Architecture: March 11, 2013

Institutions of higher education face disruptive changes, and changes in information technology are at the heart of these disruptions. Service oriented architecture (SOA ) provides a comprehen…
Big Research Support from a Small IT Organization: Montana State University Billings: February 1, 2013

For the typical, small central IT organization with limited funding, finding the adequate resources to provide requisite infrastructure, equipment, software, and technical support can be ch…
Empowering Technology Research Support: University of Washington: February 1, 2013

The University of Washington Information Technology (UW-IT) department and UW’s eScience Institute have been charged with supporting the research community’s vast and sophisticated technolo…
2013 Planning Guide for Application Delivery Strategies: Mobile, Cloud, Social, and Information: January 28, 2013

Gartner's 2013 planning guide for application delivery teams outlines trends in mobile, cloud, social, and information initiatives and provides guidance on how to design, develop, and …
2013 Planning Guide: Data Center, Infrastructure, Operations, Private Cloud and Desktop Transformation: November 1, 2012

In 2013, organizations will continue transitioning data centers to improve efficiency and agility. This Gartner report provides guidance to help operations and data center leaders and C…
Software-as-a-Service Email Security: Risk vs. Trust: May 31, 2012

Many organizations would be interested in treating e-mail as a commodity —cutting costs and resource investments by outsourcing it to a software as a service (SaaS) provider. However, …
The Current State of College Students and Technology 2011: July 29, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. This presentation highlights early findings of the 2011 survey of undergraduate students and information technology.…
Federating The University of North Carolina: Origins and Benefits: June 1, 2011

This ECAR case study of the University of North Carolina Identity Federation explores the benefits and impacts of federated identity on the university and its 17 constituent institutions . Fe…
From Homegrown to the Cloud: Identity Management Evolution at Coppin State University: June 1, 2011

This ECAR case study offers an introductory, not highly technical, look at a SaaS identity management (IdM) solution in higher education . It traces Coppin State University’s evolution fr…
The Soft Side of SaaS: Implications for IT in Higher Education: May 3, 2011

This ECAR research bulletin provides an understanding of how the evolution of software as a service (SaaS) will impact the relationships and roles of business and IT organizations in our college…

Main Nav

Publications

Research

Major Conferences

Online Events

Special Topic Events

Events for all Levels and Interests

Career Center

Leadership and Management Programs

Fellowships and Awards

Getting Involved

Jump Start Your Career Growth

Latest Topics

EDUCAUSE organizes its efforts around three IT Focus Areas

Join These Programs If Your Focus Is

From the Blogs

Find Others

Share Ideas

Get on the Higher Ed IT Map

2013 Strategic Priorities

Membership

Who We Are

Stay Informed

Uncommon Thinking for the Common Good™

< EDUCAUSE Library

Subscribe

Browse this Topic

Expand Topic...

Your Selections Under:

Related Topics

Filter by type

Filter by Publications

Filter by Library Taxonomy