Today I attended the webinar sponsored by the Ohio Board of Regents regarding Ohio’s digital textbook project.   Speakers included: Darlene McCoy, Associate Vice Chancellor, Division of Affordability and Efficiency, University System of Ohio; Dr. Steve Acker, Research Director, eTextOhio Project; Dr. Shu Z. Schiller, Assistant Professor of Information Systems at Wright State University; and Eric [...]

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On Monday I visited SAGE in Thousand Oaks, California and had the chance to talk with Michele Sordi, Vice President and Editorial Director for the Higher Education Group, about digital textbooks.  We discussed the SAGE textbook program, barriers to digital textbook adoption, and the role of librarians in digital textbooks on campus. Michele will join [...]

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The University System of Ohio has been a national leader in supporting innovations that help eliminate textbook costs as a financial barrier to college.  Solving the textbook affordability crisis for Ohio college students is more pressing than ever, as large numbers of students turn to public institutions for high-quality, affordable education. Please join Darlene McCoy, [...]

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The Curriki blog has a nice post highlighting 10 sources for free textbooks online.  In addition to Curriki’s own site, they link to bookboon, flatworld knowledge, ck 12, open culture, Project Gutenberg, and others.

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Great article today in Inside Higher Education, All in the Delivery, that discusses the rise of eBooks in higher education, specifically for textbooks.  Kindle, iPad, CourseSmart, FlatWorld Knowledge, and of course print, are discussed in the context of the best method for delivery of academic ebooks.  The author, Steve Kolowich, offers a nice overview and [...]

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Texas Tech University Professor, Jeremy Short, was tired of the boring and stale management textbooks, so he wrote a couple of graphic novels for his students instead.  Using a college student character, Atlas Black, Short takes students through the life of a slacker college student who transforms to a successful entrepreneur. What did the students [...]

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Some things for your weekend reading list: A Sustainable Future for Open Textbooks? The Flatworld Knowledge Story E-Texts for All (Even Lucy) | Ebooks and Accessibility How Does Google Work? Learn How Google Works: Search Engine + AdWords HOW TO: Self-Publish Anything Online Newsweek Asks: “Farewell, Libraries?” « ResourceShelf

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A new Off The Shelf Column in Reference Books Bulletin (Booklist) explores open access e-textbooks.  The CK12 Foundation, Connexions, Flatworld Knowledge, and Merlot are discussed.  Other Off The Shelf pieces are on the articles page.

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I am reproducing this post from the teleread blog, thanks Paul! Flat World, the publisher of commercial open source college textbooks, had partnered with Barnes & Noble College Booksellers and NACS Media Solutions to distribute their textbooks to over 3,000 college bookstores for the fall semester. These are pilot programs and will launch in August. [...]

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Tools of Change Conference – Future of Digital Textbooks, Feb. 23 10:45- 11:30 Speakers:  John Warren (Moderator) , Eric Frank, Flatworld Knowledge; Frank Lyman, CourseSmart; Nicholas Smith, Agile Mind; and Neeru Khosle, CK12 Foundation Questions: What is your company doing? What challenge or problem are you trying to solve? Give an example of a successful [...]

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