In 2009 the NC State University Libraries launched a textbook program designed to reduce the burden of rising textbook costs on our students, by purchasing and placing on reserve at least one copy of every required textbook at NC State. We'll share our motivations for creating the program, changes, and assessment efforts. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we shifted from purchasing print textbooks by default to prioritizing e-textbooks when they were available. In 2022 we analyzed print and electronic textbook usage data for the Fall 2019 and Fall 2021 semesters. We investigated questions like: How had the pandemic changed usage of the textbook collection? What is the overall usage of ebooks assigned as textbooks? When we have both print and electronic options for a title, which do patrons choose? We'll share the methods we used to answer these questions and well as the results. Attendees will come away with an understanding of how a textbook program works at a large academic library and how the pandemic has impacted its implementation and use.
Hilary Davis is Head of Collections & Research Strategy at the NC State University Libraries in Raleigh, NC. Her primary role is to provide leadership and direction in the Libraries' overall collection development strategies, and play a leading role in the Libraries' initiatives to support research data management at NC State. In 2008, she was named one of Library Journal’s “Movers and Shakers.” She led the first week-long data science short course for NC State University librarians (October 2015). She holds an MLS from University of Missouri-Columbia and an MS in Biology from University of Missouri-St. Louis.
