The library has been working with MCSG and with the Bookstore in order to find workable solutions to the textbook pricing concerns that students have. The students will be funding up to $7000 in print textbooks with faculty approval which we will be placing on reserve in the library. In addition, the library is testing as a pilot for one year, ebrary's Academic Complete collection which provides close to 42,000 academic titles in electronic format. Some of the features of this service include:
* individual titles can be viewed simultaneously by an unlimited number of users
* e-book format allows an entire class to view and use the same edition of a title
* a personal bookshelf that allows users to make notes and highlight text and save them
* option that allows us to purchase individual titles if not included in Academic Complete collection
You can review information about the Academic Complete collection and test the service at
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/macalester/home.action
I'd like to encourage you to check out ebrary's Academic Complete collection to determine if your class text is available. We will be gathering feedback from faculty and students after midterms in the fall. If you have questions about this service, please contact your library liaison or Angi Faiks for more information.
