LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: Best Practices

Best Practices for Selecting Course Texts

Textbook Expenditures

Please Consider Cost

$230 - $299	> $1,000	$3.6 million
price range of traditional casebooks	spent by most 1Ls buying new books for the 2020-21 academic year	approximately 600 students spend over 6 semesters
Used 25%	Renting 33%	Approx. $30
buying used gives about a 25% discount	renting books gives about a 33% discount	cost of the property text being used this Spring '21

Administration	Faculty	Law Library
Assign 1L sections earlier (so professors can post texts sooner) Encourage faculty participation in choosing lower cost materials	Consider cost when choosing a text Consider alternative publishers Choose a text and publicize it early (so more students can find used and rentals) (bookscouter.com is a good resource for low prices) Change editions less often to increase number of available used texts Faculty in same subject matter coordinate textbook and statutory supplement usage	Help faculty update older textbooks and create statutory supplements Maintain a list of alternative publishers Circulate and maintain a list of open course materials including supplements to faculty Stay in communication with other law schools to learn about innovative responses

Textbook Expenditures Printable Guide
This PDF is a print version of the Textbook Expenditures guide found on this page. It was created in 2015 through collaboration between law librarians and faculty in an effort to inform the law school community about the costs students face each semester at the University of Georgia School of Law. This document was last revised in February 2021.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources: A Guide for Authors, Adapters & Adopters of Openly Licensed Teaching and Learning Materials
This Code is a tool for educators, librarians, and authors to evaluate common professional scenarios in which fair use can enable them to incorporate inserts, including those protected by copyright, to create OER. It can provide groups working on OER projects with a shared framework for evaluating and understanding when and how to incorporate existing content to meet pedagogical needs.