Not
so long ago, the textbook supply chain looked something like this: An author,
often a professor, would write a textbook. A publisher would edit and print it.
Faculty would select the book for class. The campus bookstore would order it.
Students would come to the store to buy a copy. If the store could snag used
copies, students would buy those first.
The
digital era upended all that. And as new technologies emerge, there will be even
more disruptions to the supply chain. No one knows how it will all turn out.
In
an effort to encourage a broad and open exchange of views, ideas, and
information about course materials delivery and digital content, NACS has
launched an online discussion for all interested stakeholders. That includes campus
bookstores, faculty, administrators, publishers, intellectual property experts,
and any others who want to contribute to the conversation or monitor
developments. You don’t need to be a NACS member to participate.
This
new Collaborative Industry Discussion—dubbed Course Materials, Digital Content,
and Supplying the Campus Community—is expected to focus more on higher
education but may also explore trends in course materials for K-12 and lifelong
learning.
The
discussion will be housed within NACS’ new online community, The Hub. If you’re
not a NACS member, you must register for login credentials first. Once you have
set up a password, join the discussion community by logging into The Hub and
clicking “Join Communities” in the Discuss and Share menu.
Discussion
participants can receive and post messages to the group, browse archived
messages, and share documents in the library.
