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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Using BI to Identify Revenue and Resource Reallocation: March 18, 2013 | A session at the Midwest Regional Conference
Like most institutions of higher education, Miami University is facing increasing financial pressures and demands. Miami University has decided to develop a new budget model that will result in the…
University E-Commerce: A Balancing Act: February 13, 2013 | A session at the West/Southwest Regional Conference
What do you find as your biggest challenge regarding e-commerce solutions? This session will provide a perspective on one university's identification of its challenges and the surprisingly sim…
Top Issues Facing Today's Business and Financial Officers: August 10, 2011

August 10, 2011, 1:00 p.m. (EDT/GMT-4) What are the biggest challenges currently confronting chief business and financial officers at colleges and universities? How has the current e…
Delivering the Dual Mission of University IT: July 28, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. University IT departments have evolved organically, but the time has come to purposefully organize to support the du…
Demand Aggregation: The Higher Ed IT Chessboard: October 19, 2011 | A session at the EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference
This discussion will focus on buy-side concerns for higher education IT. As we (the buy-side) remain highly fragmented and the sell-side aggregates/consolidates, we will be subjected to capital own…
Above-Campus Services 2011: Progress to Production: October 20, 2011 | A session at the EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference
Above-campus services have moved from the planning stages to production services, which include offerings from commercial suppliers, community organizations, and campus partnerships. This session w…
Updating the Value Proposition: Using Services to Define Your IT Organization: October 20, 2011 | A session at the EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference
This presentation will identify how conducting a services inventory is the foundation for creating an understanding of current services, customers, and cost; identifying and justifying efforts and …
Conquering a Virtual Accreditation: October 19, 2011 | A session at the EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference
Every institution and many professional programs face regular accreditation reviews. The system we are working on shows potential for making preparation for these accreditation visits more manageab…
The Road Ahead: What the IT Leaders of the Future Need to Know: October 19, 2011 | A session at the EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference
IT executives must make decisions regarding three very distinct and interrelated "time zones": the realities of "now" (current fiscal year); the problems and possibilities of &q…
Controlling the Higher Ed Enterprise for Less Than $5B: May 17, 2011 | A session at the Enterprise and Information Technology Conference 2011
In this decade, many colleges and universities will substantially upgrade or replace essential administrative systems. Kvavik and Katz (ECAR, 2002) conservatively estimated that institutions spent …

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