Building on (Student) Success: Library and Bookstore Expand Partnership for Affordable Learning Materials
Since 2022, the San Diego State University Library and SDSU Bookstore have partnered to bring digital textbooks, open access resources, and other open educational materials to SDSU students as part of a strategic investment in educational affordability and student success. We described the growth and impact of this program last year and are excited to report that our program is set to grow again in 2027!
The SDSU strategy for promoting affordable access to course materials is founded on collaboration between the Library, Bookstore, and Information Technology Services to ensure that materials adopted by SDSU faculty for course use can be made available digitally, both through the library website and, as appropriate, through Canvas LMS. With funding drawn from the Bookstore’s Day1Ready program as well as the Library’s collections budget (supported, in part, through the Library Student Use Fee), we are able to pursue a three-pronged approach to making textbooks and other educational materials available at low (or no) costs to our students by:
- acquiring licenses for e-books that students can use without cost and without limits on how many people can use the book at any one time;
- promoting the use of open access materials, including journal articles and books; and
- supporting the development and use of open educational resources, which may be digital textbooks, other readings, or other types of learning materials.
According to Kate Holvoet, Scholarly Communications and Open Initiatives Librarian: “The bookstore/library partnership benefits students in at least two ways, by lowering the cost per credit hour for the Day1Ready program, and by making a diverse selection of faculty-curated materials permanently available to the entire SDSU community through the library for discovery and use in coursework and research.”
Pursued as part of CSU’s Affordable Learning Solutions initiative, SDSU has been extraordinarily successful in saving students money. According to Kathy Brown, Director of the Campus Stores Division of Aztec Shops, “our partnership has saved 109,330 students a total of $4,933,644 since 2023.” Thanks to the demonstrated impact of the collaboration between the Library and the Bookstore to identify materials that students need to be successful in their classes and to make those materials available to all SDSU students, regardless of campus location or learning modality, Aztec Shops has recently agreed to more than triple the amount of funding provided to the library to acquire textbooks and other learning materials for this program. Todd Summer, CEO of Aztec Shops, said: “We’ve seen the significant impact this partnership can have for our students, which made increasing Aztec Shops’ investment an easy decision. Making more course materials available at little or no cost helps reduce the overall expense of attending SDSU and supports student success.”
One of the CSU Student Success Framework's core commitments is affordability, along with the promise that “every student in California will be able to afford the total cost of a CSU degree.” Knowing that the cost of textbooks and other educational materials for an SDSU undergraduate student may approach $1,000 per year (on average), there is no question that a strategic and collaborative approach to investment in affordable learning materials is part of the foundation for student success in the CSU. Indeed, according to a recent report from the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the use of open educational resources (OERs) – a pillar of the SDSU strategy – “can positively influence student success outcomes while making higher education more accessible and affordable.”
“Strategic investment in library resources that directly support what students need to learn to succeed in their classrooms is a ‘high-impact practice’ that contributes to educational affordability, student engagement, and innovative teaching and learning practices in the classroom,” according to Scott Walter, Dean of the University Library. “Moreover,” he continued, “our investment in digital resources accessible to all SDSU students, regardless of their learning location, supports an essential feature of the SDSU strategic plan by ensuring that SDSU students have equitable access to educational materials regardless of their campus or learning location.”
If you would like to know more about the SDSU Library’s strategy for supporting open access publications and the development and use of open educational resources, please contact Kate Holvoet.
