Textbook Affordability Program

Course Resource Lists in mêskanâs

Instructors can gather course materials from the library's collection, as well as free online resources, in mêskanâs for students to access.

Library staff are available to help with this. Visit Course Outline Service to learn more.

Online Resources

Online resources in the MacEwan Library collection can be assigned to students by simply providing them with a link to this content.

Visit Linking to Online Resources to ensure students can access these resources when off-campus.

Physical Resources

Physical resources in the library collection can be placed on reserve for short-term loan at the Library Services desk in John L. Haar Library.

Visit Items on Physical Reserve to learn more.

Open textbooks are free to use, share, and modify under Creative Commons licenses.

Explore open textbook directories

• OpenStax
  An established open textbook provider based out of Rice University.
• Open Textbook Library
  Extensive database of open textbooks supported by the University of Minnesota.
• Pressbooks Directory
  A curated collection of open textbooks using Pressbooks software.

Explore Canadian open textbook collections

• B.C. Open Collection by BCCampus
  BC's Open Textbook Collection covering a variety of subjects and specialties.
• eCampus Ontario - Open Library
  Ontario's curated collection of open textbooks for post-secondary courses.
• MacEwan Open Books
  MacEwan University’s Open Textbook catalog.
• Open Education Alberta
  Open textbooks hosted by the University of Alberta.

Visit the Library’s Copyright-Friendly Sources guide to explore a wide variety of additional public domain and openly licensed resources.

MacEwan Open Books is an open textbook hosting service available to faculty and staff interested in developing online, interactive open textbooks. Collaboration with students, community partners, and peers is welcome.

This easy-to-use platform using Pressbooks software can be used to create or modify existing open textbooks that can be shared and downloaded in a variety of formats.  

If you are interested in creating an open textbook, review the Terms of Use for this service, and fill out the MacEwan Open Books Request Form.

Learn more:

• Explore the MacEwan Open Textbook Authoring Guide
• Email digitalscholarship@macewan.ca  

Keep Using Older Editions

Only switch to a new edition of a textbook if the content is outdated or the edition becomes unavailable from publishers. This gives students more opportunities to buy used copies and sell them when they are no longer needed.

Find Lower Cost Alternatives

• Is there a cheaper textbook with comparable content?
• Can you replace a textbook with library resources like scholarly articles, eBooks, and book chapters, or sources that students can access freely online?  

Switch to a Digital Rental Option

Consider assigning a textbook with a digital rental option. The following sites offer rentals for many popular textbooks:

• RedShelf
• Vital Source

Affordability & Accessibility:

• Select and take courses without the financial stress of costly textbooks
• Access all your course materials easily, from anywhere, when your instructors switch to freely available online content.

Enhanced Learning:

• Improve your academic success with all the course materials you need from day one to finals  
• Collaborate with your instructors to develop new, free online course resources that support learning and research.

Share Your Voice

• Talk to your professors about textbook affordability options (see above)  
• Become a textbook affordability advocate:
  • #ABTextbookBroke social media campaigns
  • The BC Campus Open Education: OER Student Toolkit

This page includes content adapted from BC Campus Open Education OER Student Toolkit by Daniel Munro, Jenna Omassi, and Brady Yano, shared under a CC BY 4.0 licence

Teaching:

• Improve student access to assigned resources in a variety of formats
• Include more diverse voices  
• Develop new opportunities for student engagement  
• Incorporate more flexibility to regularly update content

Research:

• Publish an original open textbook
• Adapt an existing open textbook  
• Do research on the impact of open and affordable textbook options
• Write and receive grants for open textbook projects

Service:

• Provide peer-review for new or existing open textbooks
• Participate in or lead initiatives to provide new and improved options for students
• Mentor others developing and redeveloping courses with open and affordable options

Learn more:

• The MacEwan Copyright Policy encourages the creation and use of open access and open educational resources
• The MacEwan faculty member Collective Agreement includes the development of open educational resources as evidence that can demonstrate the scope, quality and impact of a faculty member’s scholarly activity

This page includes content adapted from Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, and Faculty Development