IUS Library & textbook alternatives

The IUS Library wants to play a part in reducing the costs of required course materials and improving student success. See what the IUS Library can do below. 

Selecting & Adopting OERs

The IUS Library is a member of the Open Education Network and holds yearly workshops on OER discovery, adoption, and use. Use the Open Textbook Library to search for OERs available in your discipline or reach out to Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu) for assistance in identifying available OERs. 

Unlimited Access Library eBooks

The IUS Library has a collection of over 200,000+ unlimited access eBooks. These are not traditional textbooks, but many IUS courses do not use traditional textbooks as required materials. A book you are requiring could already be available from the IUS Library or can be purchased by the IUS Library and made available to students at no cost. Contact Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu) to see if your required books are available or can be purchased as unlimited access eBooks.

The IUS Library also works with the IUS Bookstore and receives a list of all required materials in advance of the semester. If your required text is available as an unlimited access eBook, the library will contact you with more information. 

Library Course Reserves

Library Course Reserves are means for instructors to make physical texts and media available to students for short-term checkout periods: 2 hours, 24 hours, 4 days, or 7 days.  You can place items on reserve by filling out the title request form.

IUS Library textbooks FAQ

Usually, no. The unlimited access eBooks that the library can provide are not usually traditional textbooks but other types of books being required in IUS courses. For textbooks, the best alternatives are IUeTexts or OERS. 

Some books are not available as an eBook or not available from a library vendor via an unlimited access model that the library prefers for this program. 

Yes. When investigating books to be used in a new course or when redesigning an existing course, email Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu) with a list of titles that you are considering. We’ll let you know if the library can provide any as unlimited access eBooks. 

The Library supplied eBooks can be shared in Canvas, chapters can be downloaded and added to Canvas, or in some circumstances, they can be uploaded and shared via IUeTexts. Contact Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu) for suggestions about the best way to share Library supplied eBooks. 

No. There are a variety of repositories online that provide access to OERs. Contact Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu) for help identifying available OERs. 

You can share the OER link via Canvas. All Open Textbook Library OERs are also available via IUeTexts. 

The IUS Library has an annual stipend ($200) that asks faculty to review a textbook from the Open Textbook Library. For more information about this stipend, contact Mitchell Scott (scotmi@iu.edu)