Abstract

Since 2012, The University of Arizona (UA) Libraries have partnered with the UA BookStores to identify and make available e-book versions of required course materials accessible through the campus course management system and the BookStores’ website. These e-books have multi- or unlimited use licenses and are available at no cost to students. In advance of each semester, these two stakeholder groups work in partnership to acquire, make discoverable, and promote this service to faculty and students in a variety of ways.

With the maturity of our partnership and of this service to faculty and students, the UA Libraries are investigating our current environment and working with the UA BookStores to develop a new model that will improve our workflows, processes, and service to our end users, most notably by inserting the libraries at an earlier stage in the textbook adoption process.

This paper focuses on both our current process and how we got to this point as well as on our future strategic plans for developing and implementing a new model in collaboration with campus stakeholders.

Both external considerations and internal library acquisition processes are considered to give a full picture of workflows and collaborations.

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The Odd Couple: Teaming Up to Reduce Textbook Costs for Students

Since 2012, The University of Arizona (UA) Libraries have partnered with the UA BookStores to identify and make available e-book versions of required course materials accessible through the campus course management system and the BookStores’ website. These e-books have multi- or unlimited use licenses and are available at no cost to students. In advance of each semester, these two stakeholder groups work in partnership to acquire, make discoverable, and promote this service to faculty and students in a variety of ways.

With the maturity of our partnership and of this service to faculty and students, the UA Libraries are investigating our current environment and working with the UA BookStores to develop a new model that will improve our workflows, processes, and service to our end users, most notably by inserting the libraries at an earlier stage in the textbook adoption process.

This paper focuses on both our current process and how we got to this point as well as on our future strategic plans for developing and implementing a new model in collaboration with campus stakeholders.

Both external considerations and internal library acquisition processes are considered to give a full picture of workflows and collaborations.