Open source and free online textbooks - is this the future of textbooks?

Last week we wrote here about our partner Chegg and their renting textbooks' model. This is a great model and it's an example of the innovative thinking that tries to find an alternative to the current expensive (average of USD 1,000 per year in the US), not environmental friendly and irritating textbook system.

And this search has generated another great idea which has a good chance to influence the future of the textbook industry: open source free online textbooks.

This innovative concept comes from Flat World Knowledge (thanks to Springwise for the update!)

How does it work exactly? Flat World Knowledge explain on their website:

Our books might feel like your current book – for a minute. They are written by leading experts, and are peer- reviewed, edited, and highly developed. They are supported by test banks, .ppt notes, instructor manuals, print desk copies, and knowledgeable service representatives. There the similarity ends. Instead of $100 plus, our books are FREE online. We don't even require registration! Students just enter the URL they're given by their instructor and start reading. It's that easy. No tricks. No popup ads. No "a premium subscription is needed for that".

In fact, our free books go beyond what standard print editions provide with integrated audio, video, and interactive features, powerful search capabilities, and more.. Even better – read our books where you are! If you are a student in Facebook, then read our book using our Facebook app. Still free. If you are an instructor using an LMS like Blackboard, you can integrate our book into your LMS. Yep. Still free. It is what it is. Just great books, by great authors, at a great price – zero. Don't want to read online? Don't. Read on to learn about our other convenient and affordable choices. Nice segue.

And there are also editing options for faculty (they can change the content of the textbook and adjust it for their class) and social learning applications for students. Sounds great? wait, there's one more benefit: "no more being forced to switch to new editions. Ever. Whether you make changes or use our book as is, with Flat World Knowledge, you move to new editions when you have time and when you see merit. Not when we do."

It definitely sounds too good to be truth and brings up the unavoidable question: where's the catch? how they do money? well, there's actually no catch and money is made from non-online versions of these textbooks (print, audio, PDF) and study aids sold to the students. Still, pricing is very affordable - printed textbooks for around $30 and audio books for around $25. What I like even more is that the free online content is ad-free which is quite rare these days when it comes to free online content.

What are the benefits of this new offer terms of the environment? it will definitely save trees and that's great. Is it environmentally superior to paper-made textbooks? we'll need to have a life-cycle analysis to determine that. My guestimation is that since no production of e-book reader is necessarily involved in the process, there's a good chance that Flat World Knowledge's online textbooks are much better to the environment (more on this issue can be found on our e-books vs. paper books resource page).

Springwise reports that Flat World Knowledge is conducting a beta test in which it is offering four different textbooks online for free to hundreds of students at 15 colleges and universities across the U.S. Let's hope this beta test will succeed and the Flat Work Knowledge's open source textbook concept will keep expanding!

You're welcome to check out Flat World Knowledge's development so far and their plans to 2008-2009 and watch one of their video clip to learn more (videos can be found on their homepage - http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/minisite/):



Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Minneapolis, here we come!

We're happy to announce on a new bookstore that joins our bookstore program: Eye of Horus. This bookstore of Minneapolis is not just a regular bookstore, it's a metaphysical one!

Eye of Horus is the 25th bookstore in our bookstore program. Taking part in the program means that customers at the store can plant a tree for every book they buy there and receive our sticker at the counter!

And what does a metaphysical store mean exactly? here's a little bit about the store (thank you to Jane Hansen, creative director at the store for the info):

Eye of Horus is the metaphysical store, Mythic Art Gallery and Labyrinth nested between the Wedge and Uptown areas of South Minneapolis. We provide books, music, tools and services to support creativity, spiritual awakening (or deepening) and centered living. At the Eye, all paths are welcome.

At Eye of Horus, we believe Myth and Ritual are transformative, not outdated, and that spirituality can be expressed both in action and contemplation. Our labyrinth is a perfect example of our active approach in providing a space where individuals and the community come together through events, workshops, and discussions which enhance their practice and inform their journey.

Our mission is to provide the books and sacred items for all alternative religious studies, Asatru, Buddhist, Christian Mystic, Druid, Hindu, Muslim, Pagan, Shinto, Taoism, Voudon, Wicca, etc. We honor all sources of wisdom and respect all Paths to Spirit; rooted, as we are, in Earth-Based Spirituality, with staff reflecting a variety of paths and traditions. Although we specialize in the tools and supplies for Earth-based and Mystery Paths such as Wicca, Druidry, Shamanic studies, New Age, etc., we believe in the value of diversity in belief and practice, and strive to support all alternative paths.

Eye of Horus is a store of open doors, with deep roots in community. We strive to be a resource for the local community by providing meeting space and classes at our store, and online via our Yahoo Group, and MySpace Page, not to mention our online store, which makes items and books accessible in otherwise isolated areas.

We are dedicated to creating a sustainable business which, while serving our customers, also helps sustain not only community, staff and artisan partners, but the environment as well.
We believe that, through connection with the Sacred, every being has the ability to awaken their spirits and transform themselves, and, through that awakening, transform and heal the planet.

Isn't that a great bookstore or what? Here are the the store's details:

Address: 2717 Lyndale Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone: 612-872-1292

Hours: 10am to 9pm Mon-Sat, 11am to 6pm -Sun

Online store: http://eyeofhorus.biz/catalog/index.php

So you're welcome to check it out whether in the location in Minneapolis or online and enjoy a great metaphysical experience.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

It's August and it's all about birthdays!

August is the birthday month at Eco-Libris. Oren and I, who is responsible on our online makreting operations, were born this month 37 years ago only 3 days apart!

We'll be celebrating all next week (with green gifts of course..we love them), and we also wanted to remind you of the option to celebrate a birthday of friends, family members, colleagues and anyone you care about with Eco-Libris!

Eco-Libris is offering you now to plant trees to balance out the books of your loved ones who celebrate their birthday. Not only that new trees will be planted to balance out their books, but they will also receive our stickers with a beautiful birthday card made of recycled paper. And we also try to keep it affordable - the added charge for the birthday card is only $1.5.

All you need to do is to choose how many of the birthday person's books you want to balance out on our special birthday gift page, change the shipping address on the payment page to the address of the gift receiver and we will take care of the rest!

This is also a great green add-on if you're buying a book as a gift for the birthday person, especially if you're buying her or him a green book.

The birthday cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture above of one of their cards). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Sounds like a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers!

And of course, if it's your birthday and you want to give yourself a green present - get yourself a nice green book and plant a tree for it with us!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

Green Options - Is Wal-Mart Trying to Undermine Carbon Offset Guidelines?

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg on August 18 on The Inspired Economist. Today's post is about an interesting debate that is going on lately about Wal-Mart and whether they do or do not try to block an effort to have clearer guidelines of carbon offsets.

Though much of my time over the past couple of weeks has been devoted to the behind-the-scenes work of bringing The Inspired Economist into the Green Options Media blog network, I've also made sure to follow the discussion regarding Wal-Mart's comments to the FTC regarding carbon offsets and renewable energy credits. In a post titled "Wal-Mart Lobbies Against Carbon Offset Guidelines," Tony Calero at Wal-Mart Watch got this discussion started by pointing to the company's comments filed in response to an FTC request:

Herein lays the scandal: Despite the company’s “green” initiatives, Wal-Mart is actively lobbying against the clarification of offset guidelines. The company’s hypocritical stance on the issue came to light last week in a hearing of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is attempting to modernize the “Green Guides,” guidelines issued for corporations defining acceptable marketing claims regarding environmental products and initiatives. In response to the FTC’s solicitation of retailer comment to guide the process, Wal-Mart’s Director of Energy Regulation, Angela Beehler, expressed Wal-Mart’s firm opposition towards the clarified scope and definition of carbon offsets...

As you might imagine, other media outlets picked up on this pretty quickly: Grist, for instance, noted that Consumers Union and other groups have "been advocating for clear, specific definitions to avoid misleading green claims, " and that "the FTC's definition of carbon offsets could most affect the retailer's ultra-ambitious goal to someday run on 100 percent renewable energy -- a huge amount of which would likely have to come from offsets or renewable-energy certificates." US News and World Report's "Fresh Greens" blog asked "Is Wal-Mart being hypocritical, or are its green efforts in good faith?" Eoin O'Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor's "Bright Green Blog" not only expressed a reaction similar to my own (essentially head-scratching), but also took a step further than the rest of us: he gave Wal-Mart a call. Much of the response he received followed the typical MO of a corporate communications department: the company restated its broad sustainability goals, and offered some more specific ones related to greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency. It addressed offsets and renewable energy credits in the last paragraph:

Green Books Reviews - 'A Spring without Bees' by Michael Schacker

"Only 26 years” said the beekeeper, “this is how long we have. After that, you will be eating only corn, wheat and rice.”

We were enjoying a sunny afternoon at the Port Townsend farmer's market on the north eastern end of the Olympic peninsula. I just had a yummy raw pizza and the xylophone band were in the middle of their second exhilarating set. People from all walks of life were taking the time to stop when meeting and have long conversations before heading home with bountiful fresh produce in their tote bags. We stopped at the beekeeper's honey booth for a chat. “Yes, you see all these farmers?” he continued, pointing at other stallholders selling fresh vegetables and herbs, “Some of them are starting to ask me what is going on with the bees. They begin to realize something is wrong. But by the time farmers will join us beekeepers in calling for action, it will be too late.”

Driving back to Seattle, I had bees on my mind. I decided it was time to finish reading and review Michael Schacker's 'A Spring without Bees'.

The reason beekeepers all around the world are worried is that for the past years whole hives of honey bees are disappearing at alarming rates as part of what is now called “Colony Collapse Disorder” or CCD for short. The reason we should all be worried is that a significance portion of all the food in the world requires a healthy population of honey bees to be grown. How come? Schacker explains it in the beginning of the book. Sometime around 130 million years ago one of nature's most amazing synergies was negotiated. Flowers evolved to attract insects that will lubricate the intricate business of plant sex, and a certain specie of wasps answered the intoxicating seductive call of nectar to evolve into the tiny bee, a highly efficient pollinating machine. As I recently re-learned by watching the summer squash and tomatoes in the garden, most food crops rely on flowers for their reproduction, and therefore on insect life. And as the Port Townsend farmers are now discovering, no bees equals no crops.

In today's world of agricultural business and mega production it means that commercial pollinators regularly rent their bee hives to sit in crop fields and make sure pollination happens at the right season. But now as bees go AWOL the pollinators go out of business, as record percentages of their hives, as high as 80% per season, disappear. The worker bees simply go to work in the morning and never come back.

All of this may not be new to some of you, and probably you have read a version of it as part of the media's coverage of the “mystery” of the bee's disease, maybe in a novelty piece about how cellphone radiation or power lines may be the culprit, and how American scientists and beekeepers are supposedly baffled. Nothing like a good mystery to keep the work enthralled, right? Not always. According to Schacker what we're dealing with here is a series of industry red herrings designed to distract the US from the most likely cause, toxic chemical pesticides. He shows that the real mystery is how did the EPA and FDA, the federal government bodies that are supposed to regulate pesticides, become the legal loophole clearinghouse that they are, systematically allowing the chemical companies to bring to market toxic materials without proper environmental reviews, using certain clauses that allow them to waive important safety requirements for economic reasons.

So is the bottom line that big business once again bought the research and politicians with everyone else paying the price? It certainly seems that way, and Schackers level headed analysis and step by step explanations of the regulations, how they are circumvented, and how credible information from France is systematically ignored, makes a good case of it. In France an important study showed how minuscule quantities of certain chemicals would cause severe harm to the bees. When these chemicals were banned there, the result was a marked comeback of the bee population.

What are the solutions? The last chapter of the book, named “Plan Bee”, outlines these plans Immediate ban on these pesticides in the short term is a no-brainer. With a world food crisis in progress it only makes sense to take this precaution, which in nothing but following the real intent of the existing regulations, while plugging the loop holes used to fast track poisons into the market.

But in the long haul, a government sponsored move to organic farming will be required. At home, he encourages people to avoid certain lawn pesticide products, and suggests campaigning for “green golf”, as golf courses are a major user those similar products as well.

Colony Collapse Disorder and the dangers it poses to the world's food supply is one of the most important issues that are hardly acted upon in green activism these days. 'A Spring without Bees' is no doubt an important book that will hopefully pave the way for more literature on the subject, and will galvanize a movement to maybe do something about it. Hell, where do I sign up?

Book: A Spring without Bees

Author: Michael Schacker

Publisher: The Lyons Press

Publication Date: June, 2008

Available on: AMAZON • BARNES & NOBLE
BOOKSENSE • BORDERS • GPP

Notes:

Bee picture via flickr under creative commons license by MrClean1982 , pollen picture by TonyVC

Best,

Eylon @ Eco-Libris

Plant a Tree for Every Book you Read!

It's time to rent some textbooks - Chegg's 'Textbook Tuesday' is tomorrow!

Living nearby a university (UD in my case) has pros and cons. But one fact is that you know exactly when the academic year is about to begin (hint: flocks of students can be seen again on Main Street). And if you're also getting ready to go back or for the first time to college, it's the time to remind you about our partners Chegg, especially when tomorrow is "Textbbook Tuesday"!

Chegg is the number one textbook rental company, which just lately celebrated its first anniversary (Happy birthday!). Chegg helps college students save hundreds of dollars on textbooks each semester by offering them the option to rent textbooks instead of buying them. Chegg offers millions of textbooks for rent with savings of up to 80%. The process is very easy, delivery is fast, and return shipping is free. Can you ask for more? well, actually you get more - Chegg are planting a tree for every book they rent!

Eco-Libris is one of the environmental partners of Chegg in their tree planting program and we're very proud of it! Chegg is committed to the environment and their very essence is green - we wrote many times in the past how by renting books you maximize the usage of already printed books, just like you do when you get a book from your library. In the photos above and below you can see some of the results of our partnership with Chegg - new trees in Guatemala (photos at nurseries in El Tejar (the Dept. of Chimaltenango) and Hierba Buena, Guatemala - courtesy of AIR, our planting partner in Guatemala).

So tomorrow, August 21, is "Textbook Tuesday" and Chegg is is stocked-up and primed for the day. This year's Textbook Tuesday is expected to be the biggest day ever for online textbook rentals! Well, all you got to do now is check them out and see how much you can save on your textbooks, and don't forget that not only that you will save moeny and trees by renting textbooks with Chegg, you will also be responsible for planting new ones as well! Chegg's website is http://www.chegg.com

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Eco-Libris is available now at One Earth One Design store in Seattle!

We're very excited to have our West Coast office in Seattle. This is a great city and now it also has a first representative on our bookstores program - One Earth One Design.

One Earth One Design, founded and owned by Sandy Campbell, is a Seattle-based company that specializes in sustainable interior design services for both commercial and residential projects, with a sustainable lifestyle store on 14300 Greenwood Ave. N. (Suite A).

Customers will have the opportunity to pay $1 to plant a tree to balance each book they purchase in the store. They will also receive an Eco-Libris sticker (made of recycled paper) at the counter for each book they balance out, saying 'One tree planted for this book'.

We're very happy that our first collaboration in Seattle is with such a sustainable store, and we invite everyone to visit the store and 1Earth 1Design's website to learn more about their unique and green offers.

This week, there's a very good reason to visit at the store: Artist reception and book signing event on Thursday, August 21, 6 - 9:00PM, with great green authors that will attend the event. Here are the details from the store's events page:

Join us in celebrating local artists, authors and designers of eco-friendly products from the Seattle-area community. An Artist Reception and Book Signing will highlight seven Northwest artists and authors. Locally made wine and delicious, seasonal appetizers will be served. Who will be featured:

Scott Anderson, artist and creator of Hatched Egg'rs children's art and toy boxes, made from non-toxic materials and re-claimed wood. http://www.hatchedeggrs.com/

Juli Adams, well known, contemporary painter of imaginative and whimsical characters and scenes. http://www.juliadams.com/

Dinah Coops, designer of nature inspired, eco-friendly and modern silk screened patterns on PaperStone. http://www.dinahcoops.com/

Darren Guyaz, photographer of natural environments, capturing ephemeral moments of vivid color, form and pattern. http://www.darrenguyaz.com/

Kathleen O'Brien, co-author of the Northwest Green Home Primer, a green building guide. http://www.obrienandco.com/

Michelle Salazar, figurative painter of emotionally charged and abstract symbolic pieces. http://michellesalazar.com/

Becky Selengut, private chef and co-author of the Washington Local and Seasonal Cookbook. fd. http://www.cornucopiacuisine.com/

This event is FREE. RSVP requested but not required.

Store's address and phone:

14300 Greenwood Ave. N., Suite A, Seattle, WA 98133

(206) 418-8120

Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Open late Thursdays for film nights and cooking classes. Check schedule of events. Free Parking on Street.

For the full list of stores on our bookstores program, please check http://www.ecolibris.net/bookstores.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!