What is the LUDP?
The Lynn University Digital Press (LUDP), part of the Lynn University Library, is a digital publisher of scholarly works in the iBook format, to be used within Lynn’s rich iPad-enabled curriculum.
The Press began organically in 2013, as faculty looked for better ways to utilize iPads for teaching and learning. Beginning with Lynn’s core curriculum, the Dialogues of Learning, faculty members began transforming their teaching through the use of multi-touch books created for the iPad environment, which they themselves authored. The project has grown quickly since then - incredible enthusiasm from faculty has been the primary driver.
Our mission:
The LUDP is dedicated to innovative publishing, to advance research and understanding in the Lynn community, and to improve engagement with scholarly knowledge. In this way we contribute to Lynn’s mission to be an agile, innovative institution of higher learning, and advance the university’s public service mission.
The LUDP thus plays a critical role in the teaching and learning mission of the University by developing new technologies and pedagogies and creating digital instructional materials that promote college success for students. We champion the Library’s research and scholarly communication missions through publishing, distribution, and preservation of academic works.
You can read more about the press here, here, and here.
How many books are in-use?
More than 60 books are currently in use in Lynn courses, with another dozen or so in the process of being proposed or written.
What are the benefits of faculty-authored digital books? How do these books improve engagement over a traditional textbook?
The faculty-authored digital books are distributed to students freely, dramatically reducing the cost of textbooks. They contain multimedia, quizzes, and other rich elements and widgets to enhance the reading experience. And they were written specifically for the Lynn student and the Lynn curriculum, so the content and tone are tailored for our community. Finally, since faculty wrote them, they have a deep connection with and a thorough knowledge of the content, rather than a more cursory understanding of something written by another scholar.
How are books made available to students?
As iBooks, on iPads provided to each student.
Will the books be available through the Apple Books store?
Currently, most LUDP books are only offered to currently enrolled Lynn University students who are registered in certain courses. There are four LUDP books in the Apple Books store.
Are iBooks formally peer-reviewed?
Several of our iBooks have gone through a formal peer-review process, and we will continue this process for other books. All LUDP books are formally edited and reviewed carefully, however.
Will Lynn's Digital Press disrupt the traditional publishing model?
For the Lynn community, it already has disrupted the way our students approach textbooks and coursework, and has drastically reduced the amount spent on textbooks. Having faculty write and create the texts they use in class is an innovation that is working for Lynn, and could work for other institutions as well. We have also innovated a new process for using open educational resources in these iBooks.
Will Lynn continue to use traditional textbooks for any courses, and which might those be?
Many courses continue to use textbooks that are not a part of the LUDP. These are offered through our Campus Store online. The library also has a textbook collection, offering at least one copy of each required textbook for 3-hour loan. This has been an extremely popular program.
