The high cost of some course materials can interfere with students’ academic success. In fact, seven out of 10 students do not purchase a required textbook during their academic careers because of cost.

The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press invites faculty to learn more about open textbook resources that can help lessen total costs students spend on course materials during the Open Textbook Workshop from 10 a.m.-noon, Thursday, Oct. 26, in Room 116A of Morris Library.

Used by many faculty across the county, open textbooks are full, real textbooks and are licensed to be freely used, edited and distributed. In addition to lessening the monetary burden on students, they provide faculty with content that can be customized for their courses.

The two-hour workshop provides open textbook training for faculty members who work on textbook selection in a wide assortment of subjects, including anthropology, biology, chemistry, economics, human resources, management, marketing, mathematical sciences, physics, political science, psychology and sociology.

As part of this professional development opportunity, faculty who attend the workshop will write a short textbook review of an open textbook contained in the Open Textbook Library. Faculty who attend and write a review will receive a $200 stipend.

Faculty who work in subject areas for which open textbooks are not currently available are welcome to attend to learn more about open textbooks, but will not be eligible for the stipend.

The workshop will be led by the Open Textbook Network’s Meg Brown-Sica, assistant dean for Collections and Scholarly Communication at Colorado State University, and Jonathan Lashley, senior instructional technologist at Boise State University. The Open Textbook Network is a national alliance of higher education institutions committed to improving access, affordability and academic success through the use of open textbooks.

After the workshop, faculty are welcome to attend lunch with Academic Technology Services, the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning and the Open Textbook Network presenters. This complimentary lunch will provide an opportunity to connect with those who can help support you as you consider bringing open textbooks into your course.

To apply, please visit udel.edu/004149. Applications are due by Sunday, Oct. 15.

Capacity is limited. Preference will be given based on textbook subject area availability.