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.


Revised Organic Chemistry Text to Be Free Online via OpenStax

Cornell professor emeritus John McMurry’s 10th edition of his bestselling textbook Organic Chemistry will be published by Rice University’s OpenStax open educational resource program next year, according to information released by the university. The textbook, which could normally cost students hundreds of dollars, according to OpenStax, will be available to students for free online, thanks to its alliance with original publisher Cengage Learning.

digital textbooks

Lumen Learning Partners with Howard U for Equitable Courseware

Lumen Learning has announced a partnership with Howard University's Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment to help develop equity-centered learning solutions for a new statistics course and platform.

Lumen Learning Initiative to Focus on Equity-Centered Courseware

Open education company Lumen Learning has announced a new initiative aimed at creating and implementing equitable course materials that will boost student success.

Faculty Usage of Digital Course Materials Falls Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

While many colleges and universities turned to digital course materials to serve the needs of remote learners during the pandemic, faculty usage of e-textbooks and other digital content has decreased now that classes have resumed in-person instruction, according to the latest "Faculty Watch" survey from the National Association of College Stores.

Open Textbook Library Reaches 1,000 Titles

Just in time for its 10-year anniversary, the Open Textbook Library's collection of open education resources has surpassed 1,000 titles.

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.