Reprinted with permission from Library Journal

The University of St. Thomas is revolutionizing textbook affordability for students with the implementation of the Leganto reading solution. Greg Argo, Associate Director for Access & Digital Services, and the university libraries, embarked on implementing a new system for providing course materials within the campus learning management system.

Responding to a course materials initiative in the University Libraries’ strategic plan, Argo and his team set out to provide course materials affordably from library holdings. The University now forges new pathways connecting the library with instructional designers and faculty. A key inspiration was the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) study Fixing the Broken Textbook Market. According to the study:

• The average student spends $1,200 on textbooks per year.
• 65% of students said that they had decided against buying a textbook/coursepack because it was too expensive.
• 82% of students felt they would do significantly better in a course if the textbook/coursepack was available for free online and buying a hard copy was optional.