Students want easier access to digital course materials

In an October 2023 report released by Alterline and commissioned by Ex Libris, 1,500 students from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United states were surveyed about their experiences accessing digital course resources. While the majority of students drew a direct line between their ability to access course materials and their academic success, they also identified a number of barriers to accessing content, including:

Prohibitive costs. 1 in 5 students have opted out of a course because the course materials were too expensive.

Lack of visibility into library collections. Of the students that get notified through their learning management system (LMS), only 55% can see whether the materials are available through the institution’s library within the LMS.

A perceived lack of access. 41% of students reported that if their course materials are not available within their institution they will not read them.