Libraries Gift Eases UNL Students’ Textbook Expenses

By Susan Houston Klaus

For junior Matt Girard and other students, textbooks are a costly part of the college experience.

But he and thousands of other students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln have been able to keep a little more cash in their wallets because of a program that provides free access to e-books and other materials. UNL Libraries launched the Libraries Course Materials program two years ago, and already it has paid big dividends for students.

From spring 2022 through January 2024, more than 6,000 items were provided to more than 23,000 students enrolled in 600-plus classes. That equates to a total estimated savings of $1.7 million for students. Because of a recent gift commitment made through the University of Nebraska Foundation, the program will be expanded to even more classes.

As part of the program, e-books are purchased with unlimited user licenses, which ensures all students in an online course can use the book simultaneously and makes it possible for instructors to use the e-books in their courses. E-books are available to students directly through their online courses by day one of each class.

Girard, an environmental science major, appreciates the no-cost materials. He accessed an e-book for his Soil and Society class as well as a documentary about the Dust Bowl. Not only did the materials give him and his classmates a broader perspective about the topic, “it also was really nice” not to have to purchase the textbook, he said.

“It makes life a little less stressful,” Girard said. “You don’t have to work quite as much to afford books, and then that gives you more time to study or just try to relax and enjoy a little bit more of your free time.”

Judy Turk, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Conservation and Survey Division of the UNL School of Natural Resources, said the program complements the literature circles teaching strategy she uses in her Soil and Society class.

Participants gather over Zoom for small-group discussions after reading the material and then analyze it. Turk uses the Libraries Course Materials program to provide Girard and other students with the readings.

“That format is important to how I teach the class,” Turk said. “I think with online teaching, it’s important to have things that keep students engaged and talking. The program allows me to do that part of the class in an effective and easy way.”

The University Libraries made affordable course materials a priority as part of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future, a historic effort to engage at least 150,000 benefactors to give $3 billion to support University of Nebraska students, faculty, academic and clinical programs and research to address the needs of the state.

University of Nebraska Foundation Trustees and 1975 UNL graduates Tom and Candy Henning made a gift pledge to acquire more unlimited licenses to expand the program to more courses, further reducing students’ financial burdens. The Hennings are co-chairs of the campaign’s Libraries Campaign Committee.

Kara Mitchell Viesca, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Education, knows how difficult budgeting for textbooks can be for many students, so she has always tried to keep the materials costs for her courses under $100.

“But that sometimes means we’re not engaging with materials that I think would be really beneficial or that students would gain a lot from,” she said.

The Libraries Course Materials program has freed her up to make decisions about what would best support learning for her students, who are current and future teachers.