School Market Size,Growth and the Shift to Digital Resources in K-12 Classrooms

The K-12 instructional materials market, including textbooks, supplemental materials, and digital resources, totaled $16.4 billion in sales in the 2009–2010 school year. It is projected that sales in 2010–2011 will be $16.4 billion in sales in the 2009–2010 school year. It is projected that sales in 2010–2011 will be 17.3 billion, a 5.3% year-to-year increase. There has been a slow down in this market, starting in 2006–2007 and intensifying in 2008–2009, yet the K-12 school market continues to grow at a steady pace despite fluctuations in the U.S. economy. The fundamental fact that student enrollment and per pupil expenditures continue to increase assures us that the K-12 market continues to grow, but it also reinforces the fact that recent years were not banner years for educational publishers. Looking at sales of particular categories of educational products, it is easy to see that the technology-related resources led the pack in a generally difficult sales year in 2009. Big jumps were recorded in terms of sales of interactive whiteboards (+33.98%), online/digital content (+19.0%), and learning management or student information systems (+11.3%) and, to a lesser extent, computing/mobile devices (+3.0%), and instructional software (+1.2%). Looked at another way, if all of the digital product applications are grouped together, this group was up a strong 11.3% in 2009, while the various types of books used by students, as a group, was down 12.7%. These results make it evident that digital resources have not only gained traction in the K-12 school market, they are starting to dominate. In fact, 2009 may be the first year that it became necessary for a company to be heavily invested in digital content/delivery in order to achieve sales success in the non-textbook instructional materials market segment.     

E-books for the Classroom and Open Access Textbooks: Two Ways to Help Students Save Money on Textbooks

ABSTRACT

To help students withstand the rising cost of textbooks and in turn support the mission of student success, the University of South Florida (USF) has implemented two electronic resources–based initiatives as part of the Tampa Library’s Textbook Affordability Project. Through the E-books for the Classroom program, the library purchases electronic versions of texts required for coursework, providing equitable access to needed materials at no cost to the students. For the past 5 years, this program has evolved into a highly successful textbook affordability measure, acquiring hundreds of e-books and serving thousands of students. Additionally, the library, with the support of the Office of the Provost and in collaboration with Innovative Education, is publishing a faculty-authored multimedia Open Access textbook to be used by hundreds of students each semester in USF’s children’s literature courses. The USF institutional repository, Scholar Commons, will host the textbook, making it freely available on a global scale. This program effectively uses library expertise and skills, coordinating university-wide faculty, professional, and technical resources, to create library-as-publisher for the benefit of the students and textbook affordability.     

The pros and cons of state-level textbook adoption

The debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages of state vs. local adoption of textbooks has gone on for decades. Until recently, however, there have been no systematic attempts to study this issue—at least not in a way that will yield insights to policymakers and others interested in the manner in which educators evaluate and select textbooks. This article describes recently completed studies that have examined textbook adoption and have the potential to illuminate this debate. The many pros and cons surrounding state vs. local adoption are considered in light of these recent findings. Michael A. Tulley, associate professor of education at Indiana University-Kokomo, has been researching and writing in the area of textbook adoption since the early 1980s. He is a former classroom reading teacher, and also served as a state-level reading consultant with the Indiana Department of Education.     

Student Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Digital Textbooks

The purpose of this article is to add to the collective body of knowledge on student behavior and attitudes relative to the adoption of digital textbooks. The article summarizes an ongoing research project that examines past, current and evolving behavior in the classroom related to digital textbooks and school. It includes students, faculty and administrative attitudes behaviors and perceptions. This research was undertaken at the Sawyer Business School of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Student attitudes and behavior toward their use of digital textbooks (eTextbooks) in higher education was examined in an ongoing longitudinal study over two years at Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University. Students in the class were divided into six teams. Five of the teams were assigned an eTextbook device and the sixth team was given a paper textbook for use through the semester. The digital technologies examined were: Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader Touch, Apple iPad, enTourage eDGe, and CourseSmart. Student attitudes and behaviors were examined pre and post class by survey each semester, and during the semesters through quizzes, journals and classroom discussion. Differential learning was measured between the six teams. Student attitudes and behaviors are becoming more receptive to and accepting of using digital textbooks each year. There was no significant difference in learning between the eTextbook devices teams or between them and the paper textbook team.     

Reforming social studies: Implications for curriculum and textbooks

The present role of textbooks in the social studies is reviewed, and recent experiences in California provide a case study illustrating the reform process. The future of textbooks and their reform is discussed, including the place of technology, new roles for textbooks, possibilities for their improvement, and the importance of extending reform beyond textbooks into teaching and school governance. David L. Elliott is director of Educational Materials Associates, consultants in textbook research, staff development, and curriculum improvement. With Arthur Woodward, he is the coeditor ofTextbooks and Schooling in the United States, the 89th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education.     

基于ACRL《高等教育信息素养框架》的我国高校信息素养教材质量评价与编写建议

[目的/意义]为提高国内高校信息素养教材编写质量,以2015年ACRL《高等教育信息素养框架》为切入点,研究该框架对高校信息素养教材建设的指导作用。[方法/过程]通过解读2015年ACRL《高等教育信息素养框架》理念,总结构建高校信息素养教材评价模型,并分析该框架对教材评价模型中各指标的影响。[结果/结论]针对具体评价指标给出编写建议,提出国内高校信息素养教材内容在新颖性、范围、重点方面的调整方向以及在意识目标、立体化结构、互动性体验、成效评估、图式外观等设计方面的改进策略。     

Promoting the Purchase of Textbooks in the Vietnamese Higher Education Sector

Higher education textbooks sales account for a significant portion of the overall book market. This study makes an important contribution to the extant literature by examining students’ purchase of original textbooks in a developing market, Vietnam. Notably, it seeks to investigate why students do not purchase original textbooks as well as the difference in purchase behavior between different groups of students. The findings reveal that some key obstacles to students’ purchase behavior include high prices, insufficient availability, low perceived value, and the emergence of pirated textbooks. Another notable finding is that senior students who are female tend to purchase more textbooks. In light of these findings, marketing strategies are suggested for publishers, bookstores and universities who aim to promote the sales and consumption of original textbooks.     

Open Source Textbooks: A Paradigm Derived from Open Source Software

This work exposes a new paradigm for the creation and publication of textbooks: open source. The phrase open source is borrowed from the computer software industry, where the word source has a technical meaning explained in this paper; open source software is software which has been developed by many collaborators using the internet to produce a final product. The contributors receive no financial compensation, yet there have been many successful open source software projects (Linux, Open Office, Apache, etc.). Open source textbooks use a similar financial model; the authors and contributors receive no direct financial compensation for their work. Contributors are listed in the produced work as primary author(s), co-authors, contributors, minor contributors, etc. according to the magnitude of their contribution. The produced work is available free for users on the internet. This paper will explain the open source process and will provide justification for open source as an effective paradigm; it will also present some existing open source textbook projects, as well as the author’s own open source textbook project.     

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

This survey assessed the experiences of faculty who participated in a textbook affordability program at Rutgers University. The program provided incentive awards in exchange for replacing commercial textbooks with affordable course materials such as open educational resources (OER), self-developed course materials, course reserves, or library-licensed content. The survey collected faculty's perceptions about the award program, experiences with OER, and interest in open textbook authoring. Responses suggest that the program is well received and that funds are adequate for adopting new course materials. However, they also indicate that even participating faculty vary greatly in their knowledge and use of OER and their interest in authoring open textbooks. Ultimately, these survey results indicate the lack of a “one size fits all” approach to incentivizing the adoption of affordable course materials, the use of OER, and the creation of new open resources.     

高等教育教材出版面临的形势、问题及发展思路探析

为了全面提升服务教育强国、文化强国的能力和水平,以高质量教材体系助力教育改革发展,文章对我国高等教育教材出版面临的形势和问题进行了分析,结合出版单位在新形态教材和教材体系建设方面所做的探索,提出新时期高等教育出版要加强教学研究,培养专业化教材建设队伍;强化整体规划和过程管理,完善教材出版服务工作;依托在线开放课程探索教材建设新机制,构建完备科学的教材体系。     

RMIT Publishing: neither fish nor fowl

In a time when university presses are struggling to survive and most require financial support from their parent institutions, RMIT Publishing – an electronic publisher from its inception in 1989 – has grown its annual sales from AU$2.8m in 2003 to an expected AU$6m in 2007. This 100% sales growth in five years has been achieved by RMIT Publishing's unique, context‐driven approach to electronic publishing. This approach has made RMIT Publishing the publisher of choice for Australian databases, aggregated scholarly content for the global market and now ‘born‐digital’ publications.     

Annual Report on the Digital Publishing Industry in China: 2007–2008

The annual report captures the rapid growth over the past 5 years with a focus on the past 2 year of the digital publishing industry in China. The growth is evaluated in relation to new revenues generated, the size of the market segments represented by e-journals, eBooks, digital newspapers, blogs, online music and games. The leading companies in each of these sectors are identified as there is still a reluctance of traditional publishes to move more aggressively into the new media publishing. Finally, a review of the challenges that the lack of copyright present to the industry as legal systems have not caught up with the rapid developments of the media or online information industries.     

Library Consortia are Poised to Support Affordable Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

As the cost of college attendance rises, affordable learning as a concept now encompasses attempts to address sharp increases in the cost of college textbooks for students. Through their expertise and negotiating power, library consortia have a unique opportunity to address textbook affordability in higher education—and OhioLINK is a leading example. It moved into negotiations with the “Big Five” global academic textbook publishers on behalf of its members in late 2017, and by July 2018 it had secured wholesale price agreements with all five: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson, Macmillan Learning and Cengage. In the interest of assisting the library community at large (and college students everywhere), here’s what we’ve learned thus far.     

The life span of a print textbook: An investigation in the utility of aging textbook collections in academic libraries

Abstract

This paper will use circulation data to explore usage trends for physical textbooks in an academic library over a sustained period of time. Conclusions will be drawn from the analysis to determine the usefulness of aging physical textbook collections in academic libraries and inform recommendations for efficient models of lending and management.     

ACRL的《高等教育信息素养框架》解读与启示

[目的/意义]2014年11月美国大学与研究图书馆协会(ACRL)发布的《高等教育信息素养框架》(第三版),取代2000年制定的《高等教育信息素养能力标准》,将成为国际范围内信息素养教育重要的指导性文件.通过对其内容的解读,为新信息环境下的国内信息素养教育提供参考. [方法/过程]阐述《高等教育信息素养框架》以及相关附件的内容,并与《高等教育信息素养能力标准》进行比较,分析其内容特点,进行总结归纳,在此基础上对信息素养教育的实践进行思考.[结果/结论]认为在新信息环境下,高校信息素养教育内容要与学术过程进一步融合,并注重Web 2.0环境下的信息交互参与,建立相应的教学内容与评价体系.此外,借鉴其他信息素养指导性文件,使信息素养教育内容、目标明朗化.     

Textbook Affordability: Is There a Role for the Library?

Try searching the library catalog, as many students do each semester for the latest version of the textbook being used in a class at many universities and you will likely come up empty-handed. Many academic libraries—due to high prices, frequently issued new editions, and a tendency to go missing from the collection—have justifiably chosen to play only a marginal role in the provision of textbooks on campus. However, the dynamics of the textbook market are changing rapidly and this presentation explored the question: Should libraries reconsider the roles they play in the provision of course materials on campus? This session focused on the issue of affordability in the context of the rapid evolution and increased availability of e-textbooks (electronic versions of textbooks). Topics covered included: an overview of the e-textbook market, purchasing options and outlets for e-textbooks, new business models for institutional access to e-textbooks, potential savings from e-textbook adoptions, information on negotiating with publishers and platform providers, and why the library is well-positioned to play a prominent role in the provision of e-textbooks.     

Publishing a Better Homiletical Textbook

Preaching, homiletics, sermon preparation, and effective church communication is an oft published topic by religious publishing houses and by academic publishing houses. This study, based on all three major branches of Christianity, found that preaching practitioners considered preaching textbooks to be woefully inadequate in teaching homiletical skills. Only by incorporating new sections on needed skills will the homiletical textbook once again become an effective tool of education.     

Insourcing library outreach: Engaging technical services in outreach to student organizations

Abstract

In recent years, library outreach has become an increasingly important aspect of public services work. In order to expand capacity and engage patrons, libraries should consider expanding their library outreach programs to include the efforts and expertise of technical services personnel. In this article, librarians from Texas A&M University will share how public services librarians, cataloging experts, and preservation librarians collaborated to provide support for a student-led textbook lending library for student veterans. Through this collaboration, the library was able to develop new outreach opportunities that highlighted technical services expertise as well as lend support to an important campus effort to improve the affordability of college textbooks for veterans.     

从文献课教材内容特点看高校信息素质教育发展新动向

通过对近三年出版的具有代表性的文献课教材的抽样调查,对现行教材内容的特点进行分析和归纳,并从中总结出当前信息素质教育发展的新动向:信息素质教育要强调全面培养学生的信息意识、信息技能和信息道德;只有注重实际教学效果,强化检索实践,关注社会需求,才能不断拓展文献课的作用和影响;教材内容必须及时反映信息资源变化及信息检索技术的最新成果,尤其需要突出信息创新意识、创新技能以及信息道德规范教育。     

信息可视化与内容描述

为了方便地对大量的数字化信息进行搜索，需要新的内容描述方法。本文介绍了几个例子和原型系统，它们指明了信息可视化技术如何被应用于内容描述。信息可视化技术使可视化内容地图可以自动生成。这些地图抽取和定义信息模型、种类和作者、概念以及其它信息实体之间的关系。这些地图还支持多种多样的交互功能，用于用户探索概念关系和隐含的信息。本文还提出了关于内容测度、内容结构和内容与内容结构的可视化显示的许多问题。我们相信，理解这些问题对于信息访问语义地图是一个显著的进步。