Trout Library Blog

The pandemic has sadly made accessing print textbooks slow and/or impossible. Shipping delays are worrisome to many students and faculty. Due to the risk of spreading infection the library cannot lend print reserve textbooks. So how do you access course textbooks while waiting for textbooks to arrive? Here are some solutions:

1. Rent ebooks - consider renting or purchasing the ebook version instead of buying the print textbook. This will allow you to access the text immediately. The cost of renting an ebook is often considerably less than the print version.  Below we see the option to rent a textbook from Harcum's online bookstore, Follett. In this case, Follett offers the option to rent for 180 days (approximately one semester) or 360 days depending on your needs. Notice the cost savings renting the book for 180 days versus buying the used or new version. You would also need to wait for the used or new version to arrive in the mail.   
2.  Rent ebooks through Amazon or other online book retailers - If Harcum's online bookstore does not have your textbook in ebook format it is worthwhile searching for your book in Google, Vitalsource, or Amazon. Below we see a textbook with an ebook rental option from Amazon:
3.  Look for previews - In the event that you have already purchased the print version of your textbook and you need to read the first chapter ASAP, look to see if a preview of the textbook is available. Often retailers like Amazon and Google Books will have previews of the first few hundred pages of a textbook. Below we see a preview of another textbook. We are able to read the first two chapters for free. This might be enough content to allow a student to start class while waiting for a print book to arrive in the mail. 

Things faculty can do to help students

• Wait until the second week of class to assign readings from the textbook. This will give students a chance to get a copy. If you are worried about losing valuable class time, consider finding a relevant article on your topic from the library databases and assign that as a reading for the first week. 
• Make sure students are aware of alternatives to the textbook. Let them know if the ebook rental version will work and where to find it. Let them know if a previous edition will be sufficient.
• Make sure the textbook is listed in the syllabus and let students know about the reading requirements as soon as possible. This will help reduce stress around locating material. 
• Consider looking for an open textbook for the future. The rising cost of textbooks is a significant burden on students that we should try our best to avoid. Look through our guide on Open Education Resources to look for free and open course material you could adopt in the future.

Roxanne Sutton

Reference and Special Collections Librarian

rsutton@harcum.edu

610-526-6022

If you’re looking for a new ed tech tool to add to your online engagement arsenal consider Hypothes.is.

Hypothes.is is a web-based social annotation tool. It allows you and your students to highlight and comment/annotate/discuss web pages or pdf articles directly on the text. Sort of like digitally writing in the margins. This tool would be extremely useful to get students to complete their reading assignments, think critically about their readings and engage in class discussions.

It is web-based and does not require downloading or installing software, although it has an optional Chrome extension which is recommended. To start, create an account at web.hypothes.is. I suggest then adding the Chrome hypothes.is extension to your browser or bookmark the web page [https://web.hypothes.is/start/]. I recommend creating a group for your course and share the unique URL for your group with your students to allow them to join the group. This ensures your class annotations will not be public. Grab the URL for your reading and add it to Hypothes.is by clicking “Paste a Link”.  Also share the URL for the reading with students. Students will have to create a Hypothes.is account and login to allow them to make their own annotations to the reading. In the screen capture below you can see a PDF journal article I added to Hypothes.is. I have logged in and have the Hypothes.is annotation toolbar open to the right. I can add a note to the entire document, called a "page note". I can also highlight text and add an annotation by clicking the quotation mark button. It works best if you use web pages or PDFs that have a direct link. 

There are a number of ways instructors can use Hypothes.is. You could add a page note with a few discussion questions and have your students respond. You could also have students complete an annotated bibliography using Hypothes.is. Read this article on 10 ways to use hypothes.is with students for more ideas. The downside is that you cannot grade comments directly in the tool. You can, however, go to each student’s annotation list to see their entire annotation activity which might make grading easier. I'll share my annotation list so you can see what I mean. 

If you have any Hypothes.is tips or tricks to add, leave us comment. If you have questions about using this tool let me know. 

Roxanne Sutton

Reference and Special Collections Librarian

rsutton@harcum.edu

610-526-6022