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The soaring price of textbooks is a pain point for students in higher education. This problem is especially severe in the US, where students spend an average of $1,400 (£1,030) on textbooks annually, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The model is broken and causes dissatisfaction, disengagement and attrition among students, said Ryan Borgesius, vice-president for North America at Perlego.

A digital library of more than 1.5 million ebooks, Perlego’s mission is to make educational resources affordable and accessible to everyone, said Borgesius. “We believe that every student, regardless of their geographical location, financial background or disability, should get access to a rich catalogue of books for an affordable price.”

A session, held in partnership with Perlego, at the 2025 ɫ��ֱ�� Digital Universities event highlighted how Westcliff University in California leverages Perlego to transform how students access and engage with books. 

Westcliff University introduced Perlego as part of its overall digital transformation. “We wanted to offer accessible, affordable and inclusive learning experiences for our students,” said Ying Iverson, chief academic officer at the university. The university decided to adopt Perlego institution-wide after a six-month pilot gained overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Westcliff has 10 campuses globally and a diverse student population from over 100 countries. “Language is always an issue for us,” Iverson said. With many students who use English as their second or third language, the university leverages technology to offer accessible features that support learning.

Jodi Consten, dean of the College of Education at Westcliff University, said that Perlego had been a game changer for students’ use of academic resources: “Perlego has transformed what we think students can do.” Consten pointed out that many students do not read the course material assigned to them, so educators often have to explain the importance of the materials and how students can access them. Perlego streamlines this journey for students. “It’s easy and embedded in the curriculum,” Consten said.

Instead of paying a large sum for textbooks, Perlego allows students to access a range of books, encouraging students to explore materials beyond their assigned reading list. Since the university introduced Perlego, around 2,500 students have used it, accessing more than 8,000 books and saving money in the process. 

Perlego offers two AI-driven tools on its platform: a smart search that scans the pages of the books on offer and guides students and staff to key excerpts, and a research assistant that can provide an overview of a topic and direct students to the appropriate references and citations. 

Although most people are familiar with subscription models for TV and music, applying this approach to accessing academic texts in higher education is an innovative concept. Dubbed “Spotify for textbooks”, Perlego encourages users to engage more deeply with subjects, said Borgesius. “Our mission is always to get students to read more and to be curious.”

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