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Open Letter Regarding Textbooks in the Library

August 30, 2007

For Immediate Release

Dear Aaron,

I want to respond to your August 29 article, “OSU needs to take a page from OU’s book.” We think the idea of putting textbooks on reserve is a great idea. In fact, we implemented just such a program last fall.

We have limited funds so we started small to test the waters. I am pleased to say our textbook initiative is beginning to gain momentum thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the OSU Library, the 2007-08 Mortar Board Committee and the Cusick Family Foundation.

In fall 2006, we purchased a copy of each textbook for classes with enrollment of 250 or more. This fall, we have expanded and are purchasing textbooks for classes of 150 or more. We are in the process of adding the textbooks that cost $150 or more. You can find current textbooks on two-hour reserve by entering the book title or author in the "Find Books" search box on our Web site. By placing these books on two-hour reserve, we hope more students will be able to consult them.

As your article demonstrates, not all students are aware of the textbook initiative at the Library. We hope to remedy that. We have highlighted the project on our Web site, but we will add a list of the specific textbooks on reserve each semester. We also plan to discuss opportunities to promote the project with the Bookstore and advertise each semester’s textbooks in the O’Colly.

Buying textbooks is a costly undertaking. (We estimate that if we were to buy a copy of every textbook it would cost over $250,000/semester.) This project has been supported entirely with private gifts, and we are actively seeking additional donor support to expand the project. We think this is money well spent. Students like you have been asking for textbooks in the Library, and I am pleased we are able to begin accommodating this need.

Many of our projects and services are direct responses to requests and ideas from our student body. We have so much to offer students that we are always looking for new ways to effectively inform them of our services. I am extending an invitation to the O’Collegian editorial board to join me for a discussion of existing and future services at the Library. I value your feedback and role as a voice on campus. We are always happy to listen and learn more about how our students want to use the Library. Keep the good ideas coming.

Regards,
Sheila Grant Johnson,
Dean of Libraries & Doris Neustadt Professor of Library Science

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