UMaine Faculty Members Joining E-Book Movement
ORONO — At least four University of Maine faculty members are joining the growing open textbook movement, and have or are publishing new texts that are available free online or in low-cost print and digital formats.
Steve Barkan, sociology professor and chair of the Sociology Department, recently published “Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World” through Flat World Knowledge, a major publisher of free and open college textbooks. Barkan, the author of five textbooks with traditional publishers, says he decided to publish with Flat World as a way to help students who are increasingly burdened by rising textbook costs.
“Students get high-quality textbooks from Flat World for free or at a low cost,” says Barkan, who has another text in progress with the publisher. “As an author, I earn a higher royalty rate, and sales of my book won’t drop off due to used book sales and rentals.”
His new sociology text, for undergraduate introduction to sociology courses, is published under a Creative Commons open license, which lets anyone read the complete book online for free. Students who prefer a physical book can buy a print copy for $39.95, a fraction of the cost of a traditional textbook, according to Barkan and Flat World Knowledge
Other options are e-books that can be downloaded to an iPad, Kindle, iPhone, Nook, Sony Reader; audio books; print-it-yourself PDF downloads; and interactive study aids, according to Flat World.
Other UMaine faculty members also are publishing through Flat World. Sociologist Amy Blackstone is writing “Research Methods for Everyday Life: A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach” for research methods courses in sociology and other social sciences. Spanish professor Kathleen March is writing an “Elementary Spanish” textbook and assistant professor of German Madelon Köhler-Busch is writing an “Elementary German” text.
March and Köhler-Busch like the online publishing options because they represent a “greener” approach to publishing and text can be more easily updated in a digital format, according to March, who adds she is planning to publish an intermediate Spanish textbook through Flat World later this year.
Earlier this month, Random House, Inc., the world’s largest trade book publisher, announced it has invested in Flat World Knowledge.
Contact: Steve Barkan, (207) 581-2383