Open Education Resources
The Wyndham Robertson Library is dedicated to providing access to books and films for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. As part of this work, the library is partnering with faculty to identify open educational resources and library-subscribed resources that may be used as required course materials, in place of traditional expensive textbooks. (For more information about open education resources and the skyrocketing costs of textbooks, see: http://sparcopen.org/open-education/).
What our students say about the rising costs of traditional textbooks
“I’m still paying for books from last year on the same credit card.”
“I’ve had to put off taking some of my political science classes because I can’t afford the textbooks.”
“If I’m a disgruntled student because of textbook prices, and you’re a disgruntled professor because no one is buying your textbook, what kind of environment does that create? What kind of trust does that create?”
What the library does
- Works with faculty to identify alternative texts or films for use as required course materials that may be free or less expensive for students
- Reviews course textbook lists to identify texts, which are available for purchase and campus-wide online access
- Provides forums for faculty to learn about open educational resources (examples include two 2018 workshops on open textbooks, a spring 2016 faculty learning community, a fall 2015 program on OER for the campus community)
For Students
The library includes reserve texts in OneSearch. You can search the database here, by professor name or by course number, to see if your course has print materials on reserve in the library or available online books/films.
For Faculty
Want to learn more about how you can use library-subscribed resources as part of your course readings/viewings? Check out our video here:
Survey Results 2022 vs 2025
VIVA (Virginia’s academic library consortium) administered a survey to Hollins students to explore these questions.
- What is the impact of course material costs on educational equity among Virginia students?
- What course content materials do students find to be most beneficial to their learning?
How worried were you about meeting your course materials cost this semester?
| 2022 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Extremely | 24% | 11% |
| Moderately | 33% | 11% |
| Slightly | 24% | 49% |
| Not at All | 19% | 30% |
How often does the cost of textbooks cause you to not purchase the required textbook?
| 2022 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequently | 25% | 34% |
| Occasionally | 35% | 19% |
| Seldom/Rarely | 19% | 22% |
| Never | 22% | 25% |
How often does the cost of textbooks cause you to earn a poor grade?
| 2022 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequently | 8% | 0% |
| Occasionally | 8% | 13% |
| Seldom/Rarely | 19% | 19% |
| Never | 63% | 69% |
Have any of the following large decisions been based at all on the cost of course materials?
| 2022 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Selecting a major | 26% | 25% |
| Selecting a minor | 12% | 8% |