Prices of textbooks and educational materials have skyrocketed over the past five decades. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of faculty members now view textbook affordability as a top priority for their universities, according to the annual Faculty Watch Report conducted by the National Association of College Stores. 

 Communicate your textbook selections to the Vassar College Store early.

• the VC Store will have more time to explore and obtain less expensive options, including used copies and rentals
• the titles will be available to students earlier for comparison shopping and making purchase decisions
• students can receive more money during book buy-back if a text has been selected for the following semester

Consider format, edition, and price.

• various editions, formats and access methods (print/online) have different price points. Older editions do not always offer savings
• the College Store can help you identify less expensive versions of the text
• older editions may not be less expensive due to limited supply and print/out of print status

Use Library eBooks, journal articles, and other e-resources.

• check if the materials you are adopting are available through the Library as e-resources
• ask your liaison librarian about ordering unlimited use ebooks 
• note: some publishers prohibit ebook sales to Libraries or the book does not have an ebook version

Place materials on Library Reserve early.

• In addition to books, the Reserve & Textbook Programs include scores and other materials that are used as course materials 
• the Library requires lead time for ordering and processing, especially new titles, in order to have materials available by the first day of the semester; the Library receives a substantial number of reserve requests the first week of the semester
• requests are processed on a first come, first served basis; requests should be made as soon as possible

Post book chapters, excepts, articles and other materials to Moodle, in accordance to fair use and licensing agreements.

• the library can help with digitization and navigating copyright

Share the MAT and FLI syllabus statements with your students to increase awareness of campus programs that address textbook equity.

Explore open access and open educational resources (OER) as appropriate.

• increasingly, scholarly publications from traditional academic publishers are being made available as open access
• OER allow for free re-use and modification; OER textbooks have gained significant traction as high quality replacements for commercial texts