Print Books and e-books During the Pandemic

A great deal has been changing when it comes to the availability of course texts. In this post we have attempted below to give you a run-down of the specifics so far as Broadview is concerned: e-book options (including the provision of such options in a number of cases where we have not previously offered them); changes in delivery times stemming from new protocols in our warehouse; and so on. But we want to begin by sharing with you some comments we’ve received recently from a university instructor who provides a timely reminder that, even when instruction must be provided online rather than in person, there can still be tremendous value in assigning bound books for course use.

“As a university instructor, I hear from my students regarding what they like and dislike about the use of technology in their courses. While we might assume that today’s students would completely embrace virtual and remote learning, many of them tell me about the beauty and value of holding a real book in their hands. As we face the realities of remote delivery, I firmly believe that print books have an important role to play. In an environment of video lectures, online discussions, and virtual library resources (all of which have their merits), I plan to continue to adopt printed textbooks so that my students can take a break from their screens to do their required and supplementary readings in another, more tangible format—one that many of them still enjoy.”

–Professor Martin Boyne, Coordinator, Trent Centre for Language and Linguistics

Some institutions, of course, are for the moment requiring that all books adopted for courses being delivered online must be e-books, but many others are offering the option of sending bound-book course texts to students. Where institutions are providing such options, Professor Boyne’s comments provide food for thought!

Regardless of whether you choose bound books or e-books, we know that instructors face truly challenging tasks in continuing with online teaching during the summer term—and perhaps the fall as well. Here is a rundown of Broadview options.

Bound-book availability: Though the Broadview warehouse was temporarily closed in order to put in place new safety protocols to protect staff, delivery personnel, and customers, we resumed shipping on April 15th; instructors will thus be fully able to order Broadview titles and have them shipped to their campus bookstores for summer and for fall courses. Alternatively, students will be able to purchase books directly from our website and have them sent to a home address (shipping is free on orders over $50).

If you’re advising your students to purchase directly from the Broadview website, please allow extra time for the books to ship, as we expect a much higher volume of individual shipments than usual in the coming months. Our customer service team is available Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00 Eastern Time if you or your students need assistance (customerservice@broadviewpress.com or 705-482-5915).

Our new health and safety protocols mean that we must temporarily have fewer staff in our warehouse. For that reason, shipments of bound-book examination and desk copies may be subject to considerable delays; course adoption orders will be prioritized over orders for bound-book examination and desk copies. However, we will continue to provide electronic examination and desk copies immediately upon request. To request an electronic examination or desk copy, please write to your Publisher’s Representative or to examcopies@broadviewpress.com. If a bound book desk or examination copy is urgently required for review or for teaching, please let us know and we’ll arrange to have one sent as soon as possible.

Broadview e-books: The vast majority of Broadview titles are already available as e-books; notably, our list of e-books includes e-book versions of nearly all of our 650 Broadview Editions, from Homer’s Odyssey to Zamyatin’s We, from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf, and from Herland to The Waste Land.

We’re also working hard to prepare e-book versions of some Broadview anthologies and textbooks that have not previously been available in e-book form, so that they will be available in time for the start of fall 2020 courses.* Newly available as e-books are The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition and Speaking of Writing: A Brief Rhetoric. E-books that will be newly available or the fall term include the following: The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy (the complete edition, and its split volumes), The Broadview Introduction to Literature (the complete edition and its split volumes), The Broadview Anthology of Short Fiction, Fourth Canadian Edition, Folk and Fairy Tales, and Reading Children’s Literature.

Most volumes of The Broadview Anthology of British Literature have long been available in e-book form; these include Volumes 1-5 of the full anthology; the single-volume Compact Edition, and the Concise Edition Volume A. Within the next week, we’ll also begin offering modified e-book versions of the Concise Edition, Volume B. (Due to differences in copyright restrictions, we will offer slightly different e-book versions of the Concise Edition Volume B in the USA and in Canada.)

*If you are interested in teaching from an e-book version of a Broadview text that is not currently available as an e-book, please let us know! If you send details about your course, its start date, and its enrollment to availability@broadviewpress.com, we will see if it may be possible to make that title available in e-book form in time for your course. No guarantees (particularly when it comes to anthologies for which copyright restrictions may apply), but we will do our best.