Instructor access as a non-instructor?
December 6, 2012 7:13 AM   Subscribe

I would like access to a supplemental resource for a textbook that I purchased, for non-school-related use, but only instructors for a course can have access.

I bought Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, and the authors note that, "An instruction manual is available for those who are interested in the scholarly and pedagogical thinking that has gone into Style."

These guys are geniuses. I want to get into their heads. But the manual is only available as a pdf download on the publisher website to verified course instructors. Has any non-instructor had any success getting access to some of this stuff, perhaps for homeschooling? What wording did you use in your request?

(And what person/title/department (email/snail-mail/phone) did you address it to? I've just emailed the publisher at an email address where they probably won't have the authority to help me. I can't find another one.)

There are older print editions on the other side of the atlantic from me, and I've put in an interlibrary loan request. But I'm itching for instant access instead of weeks.
posted by zeek321 to Education (3 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I work in higher ed publishing; if you can get a contact in editorial they might be willing to do this for you. Does the masthead of the book list an editorial assistant? Figure out how the publisher's email addresses work (it looks like this is at Pearson; I don't work for them but I can confirm that their e-mail address scheme is firstname.lastname at pearson dot com) and try that. That might be a place to start.

My department had a request come in once from a woman who was using one of our backlist and unlikely-to-revise books to teach herself the material... she wanted the answer key, somehow got in touch with one of my colleagues, and in the end we were happy to give it to her. It depends on the person you reach and the mood that they're in, I'm sure, but getting in touch with an editorial assistant, if you can, is probably the way to go. I don't think there's any need for special wording other than explaining your motivations clearly and politely. If you can get in touch with the editorial staff, they'll probably be happy that you're so into the book.
posted by Kosh at 8:48 AM on December 6, 2012


Response by poster: Still watching this thread!
posted by zeek321 at 10:47 AM on December 6, 2012


If the publisher doesn't come through for you, MeMail me.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:38 PM on December 6, 2012


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