The Alternatives Pilot Project: A Catalyst Fund Research Report

Abstract

In 2020, Yeshiva University submitted an idea application to the LYRASIS Catalyst Fund. It outlined a community need to address humanities textbook costs by leveraging library resources. Over 2020 and 2021, LYRASIS and Yeshiva University piloted a program to harness academic librarians’ expertise with humanities information resources. They reviewed syllabi and re-designed them using open-source documents and resources (“AlterTexts”). These AlterTexts were already available to students through library full-text subscriptions (periodical literature, electronic reference sources, and relevant chapters from electronic books).