Last week, the University Libraries began looking into the feasibility of securing educational publications for students' use online. Currently, many classes use online course reserves for educational readings, either in place or in addition to required texts.

Prior to Penn State's move, Cornell University began a similar venture, in which 21 books, articles and videos were made available to the school's students via the Internet.

As students at this university realize, we are going to pay through the roof for books -- and making online publications available to the masses may be a solution to the constant complaints of high book costs.

When you look at it, many course packets for classes have readings that students could already get in the library or through Penn State's database.

Professors should use what students are already paying for.

Since we pay for Internet access to some databases, teachers should give out a list of readings rather than relying on the bookstores for course packets. Also, some professors use the library system to copy readings we already have available and place them online for students' use. More professors should follow suit. We recognize that this may create extra work for professors. But as students, we feel that these types of actions are much appreciated. We are already paying a lot for library fees and courses, and using the resources we have is an important aspect of this situation.

However, online readings do have a downside. Many students might not like reading the texts on a computer, as staring at a computer screen for several hours tends to become tedious and annoying. Also, printing out what could be a high-volume of pages would be costly. In these cases, professors should use their judgment as to the feasibility of printing the readings out.

Though the idea is noble and may lessen students' economic strains a bit, the chance of all classes using these online texts is not likely. The bookstore system in place at Penn State and State College is too far entrenched with both corporate tie-ins and name-brand recognition. The battle to establish a viable system for students would be tough and long.

Sometimes, buying books should be required for classes. But, as one can see, Penn State should try to utilize its library and online system to the best of its abilities.