What textbooks do I need for classes?

• Login to MyACC.
• Select My Textbooks form the right-hand options.

Double Check - What type of course did register for?

• If you registered for a class labeled Open Educational Resources/Zero Textbook Cost (OER/ZTC), in place of required textbooks all materials needed for the class will be available online to students free of charge and access will be provided on the first day of class.You may print copies of the resources but will be responsible for printing costs. Course materials may be Open Educational Resources (OER), see syllabus or contact your instructor for specifics.
• If you have registered for a class labeled as First Day (Inclusive Course), the cost of required course materials is added to your tuition and fees bill. You will have digital access to course texts via your Blackboard account from the very first day of class. More information about the First Day program is available here: https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/first-day-classes

The ACC Bookstore is managed by Barnes and Noble and you can buy or rent at most campuses or online. 

• IMPORTANT: You are not required to purchase or rent your textbooks from the ACC Bookstore. See textbook and supplies information

   

Here are common questions you may have about Textbooks at ACC?

• Does the ACC Library have Textbooks? 
• Can I rent a Textbook for my class?

You can earn an associate degree in general studies without ever purchasing a textbook. Z-Degree students save money by taking classes where faculty have chosen to use use freely available course materials. Courses marked as OER/ZTC use resources that are online to students free of charge. Access will be provided on the first day of class.  Course materials may be Open Educational Resources (OER), see syllabus or contact your instructor for specifics.

ACC Z - Degree Information:

• https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/z-degree

More information about Open Educational Resources:

• http://researchguides.austincc.edu/oer

Get the most out of your textbook with these links:

ACC Library Services has suspended checkout from our print textbook collection at this time.

Visit Library Information and Services during COVID-19 Guide for up to date information and announcements.

Commercial Textbooks Present Challenges in a Virtual Environment

As we approach the fall 2020 semester, library staff are working hard to provide alternative access to ...required textbooks, and students cannot access them without coming into the library. To support instructors and students over the next several months, we are developing new approaches to how we acquire course textbooks, to ensure that students have access, even in a primarily online, alternative delivery environment.

However, this work is hampered by textbook publishers who do not provide electronic purchasing options for libraries. Approximately 85% of existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in any other format than print. Textbook publishers have built their profit models around selling e-textbooks directly to students. Despite this, we also know that the cost of textbooks and other course materials represent a major financial hurdle for students...

Despite the library’s commitment to make copies of all required textbooks and course materials available to assist those students who are unable to purchase their own, the following publishers will not allow us to purchase an e-textbook version of their publications:

• Pearson
• Cengage
• Houghton
• McGraw Hill
• Oxford University Press Canada (Textbook Division)
• Elsevier imprints (especially in veterinary and health science) such as:

   

  • Elsevier Health Science
  • Mosby
  • Saunders
• Thieme

This means that in courses that have adopted textbooks by these publishers, students who do not purchase the textbook will not have any alternative access to the textbook content. 

We are working with instructors to explore and identify viable textbook alternatives, including:

1. Using an existing e-book in the relevant subject area from the library’s e-book collection or requesting that the library purchase one. There are many academic e-books that aren’t considered textbooks, and are therefore available for the library to purchase.
2. Adopting an open educational resource (OER). OERs are freely available educational materials that are openly licensed to allow for re-use and modification by instructors...

Efforts will be made to secure online materials that are free from digital rights management restrictions (DRM) in order to ensure unfettered student access. DRM includes limits on the number of users that can access a resource at any one time, as well as limits on copying, printing and downloading.

Excerpt from Statement on commercial publishers adapted and used with permission from Library colleagues at Guelph University Library - Commercial Textbooks Present Challenges in a Virtual Environment