With classes in full swing at the University of Lynchburg, many students are still scrambling to get their textbooks.
Faced with rising textbook costs and the uncertainty of course requirements, many students delay purchasing materials until after classes begin, often seeking more affordable alternatives.
Gillian Brooks, a first-year student said, “One of my textbooks was supposed to be $200,” leaving her and many other first-years with the difficult decision to put off buying books until later.
For students struggling to afford textbooks, online digital libraries have become an alternative source for course materials. Many of these platforms purchase licensed copies of books and lend them digitally to one user at a time, in line with copyright regulations for libraries.
According to Wired, textbook access became a larger issue during the pandemic, when digital libraries such as the Internet Archive temporarily lifted borrowing limits, allowing multiple users to view the same digital scan simultaneously. Publishers argued this practice was equivalent to piracy, and courts ultimately ruled in their favor. The Internet Archive has appealed the decision multiple times without success.
Even after licensing restrictions were reinstated, publishers expressed continued concern about digital libraries’ impact on profits, framing the dispute as one over copyright protection rather than access to educational resources.
A solution that many students utilize is to sell those textbooks back at the end of the semester, explained Skylar Dickey, a junior and an employee at the Hornet Shop. While students may not get the total value of the books back from the used book sale, it is a small return on their investment.
Unfortunately, the used book marketplace is not an option for every textbook. Jaylen Carter, a junior, is concerned about the price of textbooks, and is even more concerned about shipping costs, which can make textbooks even more expensive than they already are. Carter, like many other students, is stuck wondering why required texts aren’t readily available in the library.
Jeff Harbin, the Access Services Librarian explained that the library doesn’t provide textbooks because:
- Textbooks can be expensive.
- Most frequently change editions.
- It can be difficult to keep up with student demand.
- Many textbooks come with codes that can only be used by one student.
Harbin, who has worked at multiple different universities, explained that this is almost always the policy.
To learn more about textbook accessibility visit textbooks and course materials.