Students In Conversation: The Impact of Providing Open Educational Resources & Zero Textbook Cost Courses Episode 229

Apr 21, 2026

Ensuring equity of access is core to the mission of Librarians- whether that is access to information, physical access to materials, digital access, or access to technology. So it is a natural fit for Librarians to provide leadership in creative methods to support student access to textbooks. 

In today’s episode we’ll talk about the many ways that faculty can impact student access to textbooks and instructional materials–including Open Educational Resources (or OER), zero textbook cost (ZTC) courses and pathways, as well as the long-standing library reserves textbook lending program for students to use textbooks in the library. 

You’ll hear from:

• Esteban Aguilar, Electronic Resources Librarian, and Mt. SAC Liaison for the Statewide Open Educational Resources (commonly referred to as OER) Initiative, and Zero Textbook Cost (or ZTC) Library Coordinator, and Co-lead for the Library Initiative for Equitable & Affordable Learning, or LIEAL

 

• Monika Chavez, Mt. SAC’s Career and Tech Ed Librarian, also a LIEAL leader, Co-chair of the Textbook, Instructional Materials, & Digital Equity Committee, and LIbrary Department Chair.

 

Resources:

• Library Initiative for Equitable & Affordable Learning: Empowering Faculty. Supporting Students. Advancing Equity. Learn more about OER and ZTC, ZTC Pathways, related professional development and funding opportunities, and how to get support exploring our options. 

• Faculty Resources at the Library including Course Reserves (textbook collection), OER, and Class Sets Explore the many ways the Library and Librarians can help students in your classes access materials, improve student research experiences and outcomes, and that you can partner with the Library. https://www.mtsac.edu/governance/committees/tide/ 

• Mt. SAC Textbook, Instructional Materials, & Digital Equity (TIDE) Committee purpose, function, and additional support materials.

• Zero Cost and Low Cost Designations in the Schedule FAQ 

• Recommendations for Adoption of Required Instructional Materials by TIDE 

• California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources provides links to searchable OERs by discipline, transfer curriculum, C-ID, and identified gaps in OER availability 

• Research: 

• Jenkins, J. Jacob, et al. "Textbook broke: Textbook affordability as a social justice issue." Journal of Interactive Media in Education 1.3 (2020):1.

• Swain, B.K., Pathak, R.K. Benefits and challenges of using oer in higher education: a pragmatic review. Discov Educ 3, 81 (2024).

• Hughes, Jennifer, and Joseph Taylor. "Textbooks 101: What You Really Need to Know about Textbook Access Codes, Inclusive Access, Open Access, and More!." Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (2022).

Run Time: 44 min, 24 sec

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE