Faculty Resources and Services

Contact a Faculty Librarian if you would like to convert your course to a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course using library materials.

The Broward College Libraries have over 250,000 ebooks in its collection. If you can find one to use as a textbook instead of requiring our students to make a purchase, we can collectively save our students lots of money. What are desirable characteristics of a book to be included in a course?

DRM-free

DRM is "Digital Rights Management. DRM enforces rules like

1. May limits number of pages your students can download, print, email, or save
2. May require additional software to download (Adobe Digital Editions, Bluefire reader)
3. May limits length of time your students can keep materials (“checkout” mechanism)
4. May enforce restrictions on moving the content from one device to another

Your best option is to use an ebook from a collection that is DRM-free.

Unlimited number of simultaneous users

Some ebooks only allow one user at a time to use them. What happens the night before an exam if all of your class wants to use the book? They are blocked out. The best options is to use a book with unlimited number of users.

Perpetual access

Some ebooks are leased through a subscription. If a publisher changes terms or editions, a leased ebook may "disappear" from the college collection. Other ebooks are purchased. We will always have access to purchased titles. The best option is to use a book with perpetual access.

You can't always get what you want

Sometimes you may have to compromise on one or more of these three important criteria. The best choice is to consider all three options and make a balanced decision in your students' best interest.