Textbooks and Course Materials Purchasing Policy

The library’s equity mindset for supporting student success demands that we support textbook affordability through our services, collections, and collaborative work. National and local research shows that textbook prices can be a significant barrier to students’ academic success, and that negative effects are more pronounced for first-generation students, Pell-eligible students, and first-year students.

For the purpose of this policy, "textbooks" are defined as single-volume treatments intended to support student learning in an entire course. Traditional textbooks are designed specifically for adoption by instructors and typically include instructor resources (i.e. homework systems, slide decks, quiz banks). Publishers of these books do not usually offer library licenses for digital versions of these works. Major textbook publishers include Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and others.

In so far as our collections budget and availability of digital licenses allow, we endeavor to support instructors who wish to reduce or eliminate the cost of textbooks and other required course materials. Requests should be made via the Course Materials Request & Reserves Form and will be considered on a rolling basis. Requests may be prioritized based on the number of students impacted, the frequency of the course being offered, etc. Not all course-adopted materials are available for library purchase.

Digital Course Materials (excluding film)

The library will purchase digital textbooks and course materials that meet the following criteria:

• Course meets the College's minimum enrollment criteria
• Course material is required per the course syllabus
• Library license for multiple-user access is available (DRM-free license is preferable, but the minimal license should permit copying, downloading, and printing)
• Course material/platform is ADA and WCAG compliant
• Maximum cost $500.00 per course
• Course material is accessible through the College's established authentication protocols
• Course material is not sold as part of a package/bundle/subscription
• The library will not purchase single-use resources including access codes, homework systems, slide decks, quiz banks, etc.

Persons wishing to learn whether the library has or could acquire a library ebook license for specific titles should submit the Course Materials Request & Reserves Form. Questions may also be submitted to Library Acquisitions (LibraryAcq@gettysburg.edu), or to your department's library liaison.

Print Course Materials

When digital editions of course materials are not available, the library will purchase print textbooks and course materials that meet the following criteria:

• Course meets the College's minimum enrollment criteria
• Course material is required per the course syllabus
• Maximum cost of $250.00 per course
• Maximum of 3 copies per course (not per section) up to maximum cost of $250.00. Copies will be available in the Course Reserves/Textbook Collection for the duration of the semester.
• Purchasing of new editions is not guaranteed. Requests for new editions can be made if/when significant changes and/or updates have been made to the earlier edition. 
• For costs exceeding $250.00 per course, cost-sharing by department will be considered.
• Department and/or classroom collections cannot be managed by the library.

Film

• Course meets the College's minimum enrollment criteria
• Course material is required per the course syllabus
• Digital streaming preferred;
  • Digital film content/platform is ADA and WCAG compliant
  • Course material is not sold as part of a package/bundle/subscription
  • Institutional license must be available. Consumer streaming services like Netflix are not available as library subscriptions. Currently, other campus partners in College Life provide access to some streaming services in community spaces (ex: Mosaic House).
• Physical DVD is purchased only when streaming is not available
• Maximum cost $500.00

 

This policy was adopted May 26, 2023.