What is the Global Text Project?

The Global Text Project publishes electronic texts for students in the developing world. It also maintains a database of links to books for such students.

Who are the principals?

The Global Text Project is a joint project of the Terry College of Business of the University of Georgia and The Daniels College of Business of the University of Denver. The project is housed in the Terry College of Business, which also handles administrative matters.

The Co-Project Leaders are Richard Watson of the University of Georgia and Don McCubbrey of the University of Denver.

Why did you start the Global Text Project?

The developed world’s textbook business model does not meet the needs of those in the developing economies. We need a publishing model that can meet the needs of developing nations. Textbooks are considered expensive in Europe and the United States, but they are beyond the reach of many in developing economies. For example, a USD $108 Biology textbook sells for USD $51 in Africa. Gross National Income per capita in the United States is $41,400 – the figure for Uganda is USD $250 (World Bank).

Creating books

How do you get textbooks?

We rely on authors to provide an electronic version of the book they wish to publish.

How will you distribute the textbooks?

Open content electronic books are made freely available via our Website.

What is an “open content model”?

In an open content model, all content donated to or generated by a publisher – in this case the Global Text Project – is made freely available to all, for all time. Books are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. An open content model eliminates the physical distribution issues associated with paper-based books and also permits responsiveness to local needs.

Will the textbooks be translated?

We have translated some books, but it is challenge to find the required resources. We are experimenting with a crowdsourcing model for translation to Spanish.

Funding

How is the Global Text Project be funded?

Start-up funding was provided by the Zurich based Jacobs Foundation. We have nearly exhausted this funding.

Out of print books

If you are an author who has an out of print book, please consider releasing it under a Creative Commons License. We can then add it to the library. You must first ask the publisher to return the copyright to you.