Education Commons^™

Investing In Textbook Affordability Pays Off For Students, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Investing in textbook affordability can have a huge payoff for students—just ask Assistant Professors Alice Brawley Newlin and Marta Maras in the Management department. Their open, customized textbook for Statistical Methods (MGT 235) is completely free. It has been used by over 400 students and saved them an estimated $150,000! The story of how this remarkable outcome was achieved has its origins in Musselman Library. [excerpt]

2022 Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey Executive Summary, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In Fall 2022, Musselman Library conducted its second course materials survey, this time in collaboration with 10 other liberal arts colleges from around the country. The results from this new survey illuminate how students are affected by textbook and course material costs, how they cope with these costs, and how effects and behaviors have changed since our 2019 survey.

This report summarizes the background of the project, key findings, and recommendations.

2022 Gettysburg College Textbook Survey Full Report, Mary R. Elmquist, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In Fall 2022, Musselman Library conducted its second course materials survey, this time in collaboration with 10 other liberal arts colleges from around the country. This report compiles the results from Gettysburg College participants' responses. Comparisons are also made to the results from Gettysburg's 2019 survey and the larger group of colleges.

2019 Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey Executive Summary, Janelle Wertzberger, Sarah Appedu, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

We’ve all heard stories of students struggling with textbook costs, but how do our students cope when the price gets too high? Modeled after the Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey conducted by Florida Virtual Campus, Musselman Library’s course materials survey sought to uncover how textbook costs impact the success of Gettysburg College students. Results give insight into participants’ perceptions of how much money they spend, the strategies they use to reduce costs, and the effects of the cost of course materials on their academic success.

The Executive Summary details our research questions, key findings, and main takeaways.

Allison Singley, Director Of Parent Relations, Musselman Library, Allison C. Singley

Next Page

In our new Next Page column, Allison Singley, Director of Parent Relations, shares with us the three books she is currently reading and why it might take her a while to finish them, her two desert island books (one of which inspired her doctoral dissertation), how she maintains a habit of reading poetry daily, and why she doesn’t write in books anymore — or feel the need to finish one!

In Solidarity, Musselman Library, Salma Monani, Sarah M. Principato, Dave Powell, Brent C. Talbot, Charles L. Weise, Bruce A. Larson, Scott Hancock, Mckinley E. Melton, David S. Walsh, Jennifer Q. Mccary, Kristina G. Chamberlin

Next Page

This edition of Next Page is a departure from our usual question and answer format with a featured campus reader. Instead, we asked speakers who participated in the College’s recent Student Solidarity Rally (March 1, 2017) to recommend readings that might further our understanding of the topics on which they spoke.

Open Access, Stephanie K. Adamczak

SURGE

“Would you like to open a subscription to this journal?”

“Download this article for $35.00.”

“Sign up to receive access to this article.”

During my summer research I saw a lot of these windows pop up on my computer screen. One dead end followed by another. I grew weary of not having access to the studies that were highly pertinent to my area of research. Although my frustrations were never abated, I accepted this as my reality. I’ve acquiesced to the idea that my future as a researcher will be filled with endless hours of staring at a computer screen …

Information - Access: Denied, Riccardo M. Purita

SURGE

I have been privileged during my lifetime to always have the opportunity to learn about something if I wanted to. When I became interested in music and psychology—or even when I was learning how to apply for college—I googled it. The resources to obtain information have always been there for me: access to computers, the internet, books, journals. It is hard to imagine my life without a computer or access to books to learn about the world, and even harder to imagine if I did not know how to read or write. For this, I can thank my education and …

The Gettysburg Experience, Robin Wagner

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In February 1994, Gettysburg College launched an ambitious experiment that joined computing and the library into a new organization known as Information Resources. Gettysburg College, one of the first liberal arts colleges to undertake such a merger, sought, along with only a handful of other institutions, a level of integration so complete that all vestiges of the traditional library disappeared. This is the story of that merger and why it failed despite the best efforts of many. [excerpt]