Purpose & Goals

At Oregon State University Libraries & Press (OSULP), we were curious if expensive ($500 plus) eBooks purchased for course reserves would see a similar return on investment as eBooks purchased below that price point. Current policies require purchase approval for course material over $500. We wanted to explore the usage of these high-cost materials to confirm if our policy needed to be adjusted or not.

Design & Methodology

Beginning in 2022, we tracked each course reserve request for an eBook purchase that was over $500. Over that period, we have tracked usage of those eBooks during the term the content was intended to support a course. We include basic bibliographic information, date of purchase, cost, class size, course, discipline, number of sessions taught, whether the course is in-person, hybrid, or through our e-campus. Each month, we collect TR_B1 COUNTER data as it is available to determine full-text views and downloads, and usage as it relates to individual chapters, tables of content, or indexes.

Findings

We can see trends related to when readings are assigned in the class, the amount of the eBook used (one or more chapters), and an analysis of the cost per use (CPU) of high-priced eBooks versus other course reserve texts purchased in the past eighteen months. This will be compared to the CPU of eBooks in the general collection. In addition, an analysis of the type of license (3-user, DRM-free) and platform will be shared.

Action & Impact

These findings will inform how our purchasing policy for course reserves is updated. We will propose that special approval for eBooks over $500 will not be required. This will expedite the process for staff processing course reserves and make that content available to students faster.

Practical Implications & Value

Institutions have approached textbook affordability in multiple ways. At OSULP, we have committed a portion of our collections budget to support the purchase of print and electronic content for course support. Our pilot to determine the ROI of high-cost eBooks for course reserves could help other institutions consider changes to financial allocations, policy updates, and procedural and decision-making changes. The assessment data we used for this project can easily be collected and analyzed. It also can scaffold into additional assessment work related to eBook use in courses that will inform future work on textbook affordability.