Williams College
IN-41: Textbook Affordability
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.25 / 0.50 |
Christine
Seibert Sustainability Coordinator Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives |
Does the institution host a peer-to-peer textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project?:
A brief description of the textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project:
Students run a "by students for students" board called WSO that includes a variety of categories, including "exchanges". That area of the site is used by students to buy and sell items from other students. Textbooks are listed for sale & wanted under "exchange". To help further promote WSO's function as a textbook exchange (and/or buy & sell) platform, we have asked the student leaders to make a separate section for textbooks, instead of including them within the general "exchange" page. They agreed to do so in January 2022, but at time of submission have not yet made the change to the site.
In addition to this student-to-student model, textbooks are free to all students receiving financial aid. While the solution above can help non-aid students, students on aid already have the means to get all of their textbooks for free through the college's book grant program.
Does the institution provide incentives for academic staff that explicitly encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks?:
A brief description of the incentives to encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks:
The library promotes open access resources, but there is no known program that incentivizes academic staff to encourage students to use these resources.
Website URL where information about the textbook affordability incentives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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