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Hostos Community College Library

Library Resources & Services

Hostos Library's "Reserve" Textbook Collection

Students!

You may be able to access your textbook through the Hostos Library--please click on this Frequently Asked Question for more information. 

Q: Can I borrow the textbook for my course or get scans of the pages I need?

For Faculty - Reserves Scanning

Faculty!

If you have required textbook readings, please let us know if you'd like your readings made available for free for your students--please click on this Frequently Asked Question for more information. 

Q: how do I request reserve textbook scans?

For Faculty - Improving Students' Access to Textbook Materials

Textbook Solutions – Supporting Better Student Access to Course Materials

Context:

As many faculty are aware, a lot of Hostos students have difficulty accessing course materials due to the high cost of many commercial textbooks.

Some Ways the Hostos Library Can Help:

ZTC/OER Textbooks

For several years Hostos faculty have been adopting, or sometimes even developing new "Zero Textbook Cost" (ZTC) or "Open Educational Resources" (OER) textbooks. These ZTC/OER textbooks are all electronically available and free to Hostos students. So far, we have published 37 OERs created or adopted by Hostos faculty, from Allied Health to the Visual & Performing Arts Performing Arts.

In recent years faculty from across the nation have been busy writing or curating quality ZTC/OER textbooks, many of them developed for student populations from community colleges. I have developed an online guide with some places to start searching for OER materials.

Electronic E-books

the Hostos Library provides access to about 700-thousand e-books. Many of these are available to an unlimited number of users at a time, making them great candidates for use in a course. You can begin exploring e-books with a keyword search in OneSearch (be sure to use the "Full Text Online" and "Books" filters). The library can help you decode the subscription type to determine availability for course use.

Other Materials

You can use OneSearch or access individual library databases to discover articles, book chapters, videos, reports, and other kinds of materials that are available free to Hostos students via subscription.

Maximizing Access to Your Commercial Textbook

If you will continue to use your commercial textbook, you can scan individual chapters that will be required for your course, and upload these to Blackboard for your students. NOTE: you may upload only one chapter at a time, and take down the previous chapter before posting a new reading.

For More Information and Help:

If you need support identifying, collecting, or provide access to any of these textbook alternatives, please email Linda Miles (lmiles@hostos.cuny.edu), or reach out to the library faculty member designated as liaison to your discipline.