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Electronic Textbooks

E-books are being widely adopted as alternatives to traditional textbooks. Here you'll find articles detailing new developments in the area of e-book and e-textbook technologies, along with stories about institutions adopting them.


North Park University Launches Online Bookstore to Reduce Financial Barriers for Students

In an effort to boost textbook affordability for its students, North Park University is making all required course materials available through a new online bookstore that provides expanded options for low-cost textbooks.

New VitalSource Feature Offers AI-Generated Practice Activities

Education technology company VitalSource has added a component to Bookshelf, its digital textbook platform, to generate practice activities. The new function, CoachMe, uses artificial intelligence to generate questions that are formed from the text and shown in the margins of the page.

OpenStax Gets Federal Funding for Computer Science OER

Open educational resources publisher OpenStax has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to address a gap in the OER textbook market.

Follett Announces Sale of Baker & Taylor

Follett Corp. has sold book and digital content distributor Baker & Taylor, which will now operate as a separate, privately owned entity. The company was sold to a private investment group led by Amandeep Kochar, who previously served as general manager and executive vice president of Baker & Taylor.

New Cengage Product Embeds Course Materials into Learning Management System

Ed tech company Cengage has launched a new product that integrates digital course materials into an institution's learning management system.

Cengage Expands Free Career Center Resources

Education technology company Cengage is adding more than 100 new employability modules within its Cengage Unlimited course materials subscription service.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute Shifts to Fully Online Bookstore

SUNY Polytechnic Institute is launching a new online bookstore in an effort to reduce textbook costs and increase the accessibility of course content.

Students Used More Digital Course Materials During Pandemic

In 2020-2021, the majority of college students (58 percent) used digital course materials more than in the previous year, according to a survey from the National Association of College Stores.

6 Problems with OER Access in Campus Bookstores

Campus bookstores have a critical role to play in open educational resource efforts, according to a recent report from the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success Collaborative. Yet there is room for improvement in the way stores list and fulfill learning materials and make OER options available to students.

FlatWorld Upgrades Digital Platforms, Expands Catalog

Textbook publisher FlatWorld has introduced new capabilities for its homework and online reader platforms as well as 11 new and recently revised titles in its course materials catalog.