November 4, 2014
K-State faculty invited to develop open or alternative textbooks
K-State Libraries announces a call for proposals for the Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative. Multiple awards of $2,000-$5,000 will be given to K-State faculty who develop open or alternative textbooks for their courses.
The initiative was funded for a second year by Student Centered Tuition Enhancements through the K-State Student Governing Association and K-State Libraries. Additional support was recently received from central administration to continue the initiative for another two years.
Proposals are accepted from both individual faculty and from teams that teach several sections of the same course. Deadline for proposal submission is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Successful proposals may involve the use of a range of resources across different media or the adoption and customization of an existing open access textbook. Applicants will not necessarily create an entire textbook, but rather an innovative set of learning resources, which eliminate traditional textbook costs.
Proposal requirements, submission and selection criteria, and examples of open texts already in use are available at the K-State Libraries website. Awards will be announced around Dec. 15.
"We believe this initiative demonstrates that achieving savings for students doesn't come at the cost of the learning process," said Beth Turtle, scholarly communications and publishing librarian at K-State Libraries. "In fact, we believe alternative or open materials can be more timely and of higher quality than traditional textbooks. We also want to thank central administration for joining in the support of this project in an effort to improve K-State students' financial situation for years to come."
The Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative team includes Andy Bennett, department head and professor of mathematics; Brian Lindshield, assistant professor of human nutrition; and Turtle. Bennett and Lindshield have successfully created and used open textbooks in their classes. Questions about the initiative may be directed to Turtle, Bennett or Lindshield.