Walking the 
textbook tightrope: 
How might copyright 
specialists help?
ABC Copyright Conference
June 1, 2018, Vancouver, BC
Rumi Graham, University of Lethbridge
https://studentgovresources.org/textbookbroke-campaign-for-affordable-textbooks / 2
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https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/NATIONAL%20Fixing%20Broken%20Textbooks%20Report1.pdf
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https://studentgovresources.org/textbookbroke-campaign-for-affordable-textbooks/
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http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3012/4214
Students: Is it legal 
to download a free 
copy of my course 
textbook? 
Cost? Content?
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https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-downloading-freely-available-pdf-textbooks-cons-1173160.html 7
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https://www.quora.com/Can-you-get-in-legal-trouble-for-torrenting-textbooks
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https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/23/book-piracy-a-non-issue/
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https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/3i9y7n/guide_for_finding_textbooks/
https://youtu.be/YUkvSuQgO6M 11
Instructors: What is 
the best textbook 
or course material 
for my course?
Content? Cost?
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https://www.chronicle.com/article/Use-of-Free-Textbooks-Is/242086 13
Top Barriers to OER adoption (Babson Survey Research Group, 2017)
difficult to find what I need (50%)
lack of resources for my subject (47%)
concern about updates (29%)
not high-quality (28%)
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http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/oer.html
https://bccampus.ca/files/2016/01/BCFacultyUseOfOER_final.pdf
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Copyright specialists:
How to help 
students and faculty 
deal their textbook 
challenges? (What 
are our tightropes?)
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Fall 2017:
562 adopted 
textbooks
• 66 different 
publishers/distributors
• 450 (80%) of the adopted 
textbooks supplied by 12 
(18%) of the 
publishers/distributors 
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Top 12 Publishers/Distributors Suppling 80% of Fall 2017 Textbooks
Pearson Canada
Oxford UP
Nelson Education
Penguin Random…
U of Toronto Press
McGraw-Hill Ryerson
J Wiley & Sons…
Login Brothers…
Norton
Macmillan
Raincoast Books
Hackett Publishing
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
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Number of Titles Supplied
Download Availability of Adopted Textbooks (n = 562)
Non-copyright compliant
Public domain/Open access
Title Not Found
Variant Edition Found
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
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Not Found Found
Download Availability of Adopted Textbooks By Source (n = 562)
Google/Sign-Up Required
Google/No Sign-Up Required
LibGen PDF
LibGen EPUB
LibGen Other Format
Public Domain
Open Access
Title Not Found
Variant Edition in LibGen
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
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Not
Found Found
Copyright specialists: Some small steps
How can we help • newsletter column about Fall 2017 
students and faculty? textbooks
• asked about adding language to 
academic calendar re abiding by all 
applicable laws
• copyright website FAQ on textbook 
downloading
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What else might be useful?
• more student-focused 
copyright guidance/resources?
• necessary or helpful to spell 
out the need to abide by 
applicable laws? where?
• online tutorials?
• include a standard copyright 
note in all course 
syllabi/outlines? models?
• effective outreach or 
partnership approaches 
(education, awareness)?
• ???
References
Graham, R. (2018, January/February). Copyright and course textbooks. ULFA News. Retrieved from 
https://bit.ly/2GLtNWI
Jhangiani, R., & Jhangiani, S. (2017). Investigating the perceptions, use, and impact of open textbooks: 
A survey of post-secondary students in British Columbia. International Review of Research in Open 
and Distance Learning, 18(4). Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2GIFwVW
Jhangiani, R., Pitt, R., Hendricks, C., Key, J., & Lalonde, C. (2016). Exploring faculty use of open 
educational resources at British Columbia post-secondary institutions. Victoria, BC: BCcampus. 
Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2LqYR1B
McMurtrie, B. (2017, December 19). Use of free textbooks is rising, but barriers remain. Chronicle of 
Higher Education. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2IH3p1H
Seaman, J. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Opening the textbook: Educational resources in U.S. Higher 
education, 2017. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from 
https://bit.ly/2J2ZmAs
Senack, E. (2014). Fixing the broken textbook market: How students respond to high textbook costs and 
demand alternatives. Washington, DC: Center for Public Interest Research, Inc. Retrieved from 
https://bit.ly/1U1hXHp
Vitez, K. (2018). FY18 open textbooks program appropriation an important step for college students 
[Press release]. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2GLhzx8
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Image Sources
• tightrope https://pixabay.com/en/sport-train-active-fitness-1013999/ (CC0)
• stack of books https://pixabay.com/en/books-stack-learn-study-library-1015595/ (CC0)
• teacher https://pixabay.com/en/teacher-teach-learn-improvement-1013970/ (CC0)
• letter “C” https://pixabay.com/en/c-letter-alphabet-alphabetically-1015531/ (CC0)
• textbooks https://pixabay.com/en/books-education-school-literature-441864/ (CC0)
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