Textbook Alternatives

If you are considering resources to replace a traditional course textbook, here are some things to consider:

• Does the material adequately address the course objectives?
• Does the material provide enough scope, background information and connection between concepts?
• Can I locate enough high-quality material on the subject?
• Can I locate a single source as a textbook replacement or will I need to combine a variety of sources to reproduce information covered in a traditional textbook?
• Has the material been used in other college-level courses? Reviewed by peers/academics?
• Have I verified that I’m using legally available material?
• Am I duplicating or reproducing material that is under copyright by mistake?
• Does the format of the material suit the needs of my students?
• Will students be able to print out materials (legally and logistically) if desired?
• Does the format or availability of the materials comply with the ADA?

Printable Checklist (PDF)

Most of the standard or traditional textbooks that are used in Community College and Vermont Tech courses are not available in the library collection or available as eBooks through library databases. The Hartness Library Collection Development Policy states that:

“Items that all students in a class will be required to use at the same time, that cannot be legally copied
or rebroadcast under “fair use” provisions of the copyright law, are considered textbook-type
materials; the library cannot acquire class sets of such materials. Students must acquire
them individually.”

The library’s eBook databases may, on occasion, include a traditional or supplemental-type textbook which has been licensed for multiple-user access or has been made available for that purpose by the publisher.  For the most part, we are not able to negotiate with eTextbook vendors to make specific titles available or purchase access to titles that publishers have established as textbooks. The Library may consider purchasing these within the guidelines of our Collection Development Policy.

Some of the time and work it takes to replace a textbook must go into determining how the materials can be used and delivering the materials in a way that is part of Fair Use.
Learn more about Copyright & Fair Use and what can be used in classroom and online teaching environments.

Most traditional textbooks provide “big picture” concepts and some of the synthesis between those concepts. If you are considering replacing your traditional textbook with open access materials or library eBooks, then using encyclopedias, subject dictionaries and other reference works may provide some of this top-level or introductory information. These sources provide excellent entries for definitions, terminology, historical overviews, etc… and are typically one paragraph to one-page in length. A full list of our reference databases is on the Encyclopedias & Reference Works page of the library website but we suggest starting with these collections depending on the length and scope of the material needed:

There are also encyclopedias and reference eBooks in our EBSCO databases – this link to a search for the term encyclopedia is a good way to see what is available. Add a broad search term (e.g. psychology, history, law) to that search to explore further titles by dicipline. You can also run a search using the word dictionary in the EBSCO collections listed in the section about eBooks below.

Piecing together chapters or sections from a variety of eBooks, periodicals, and media is the most common way to create a textbook alternative, though it can be time-consuming.

eBooks

When you locate an eBook or eBook chapter you want to use, first verify the number of users who can access the eBook simultaneously – eBooks housed in the EBSCO databases may have a limited number of users, but eBooks from other databases (ScienceDirect, JSTOR, Very Short Introductions) have an unlimited number of simultaneous users. The Table of Contents is an easy way to see a chapter list or scan for relevant sections to use in a course. The Permalink that is provided in the Tools menu can be used to connect students to the whole eBook or, once you have clicked inside a specific eBook, to link students to a specific page. Here is an example of what those features look like for an eBook housed in an EBSCO database and there is additional information about bookmarks and permalinks below.

If the eBook has a limited number of users, it may not work as a required course text. Here is a list of databases that provide unlimited user access to eBooks:

Periodicals

You can search for specific periodicals by title and link students to individual newspapers, magazines, or academic journals. There are also suggested or featured periodicals on the library’s Subject Guides.

Online Videos

As with the eBooks above, you need to use Permalinks for articles and videos to make sure your links remain stable and to comply with copyright restrictions. Review the information about permalinks and bookmarks below.

When you have located an eBook or eBook chapter that you want to use, make sure to find the permalink or bookmark provided by the database. There are full instructions for Linking to Sources to make sure you have the correct URL. DO NOT DOWNLOAD PDFs and upload them to your course. This isn’t permitted by Fair Use practices and our licensing agreements. Students need to link to (and log in to) the material using their own Web Services ID and password.

Printing & Duplicating

Students can print out chapters and sections of library-owned eBooks, but not entire eBooks. Faculty members intending to photocopy pages for classroom use need to review Fair Use guidelines and the considerations of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative effect.

After exploring our collections, you can browse open access sources on the library’s Open Educational Resources guide to locate materials beyond the Hartness Library collections.