Bundling
leads to high textbook prices
By
Joseph Serna
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
College textbooks prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation over
the last two decades according to the United States Government Accountability
Office (GAO).
The report, which comes on the heels of a widely publicized report by the State
Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), focuses on possible reasons for the
rapid increase in the cost of textbooks.
“[Publishers] are fleecing students that just want to learn,” said
Sarah Stein, a field organizer for California Student Public Interest Group (calPIRG).
According to the GAO report, the increase in textbook costs can best be explained
by publishers’ recent trend towards “bundling,” or combining
other course materials such as CDs and workbooks related to the same topic
as the textbook.
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) asserts they bundle only to meet
the needs of professors and a diverse student population.
“The publishers’ response has been to work with educators to produce
new…tools that faculty use to tailor their materials for their students,” said
Patricia Schroeder, AAP’s president and CEO.
Although publishers may offer many textbooks unbundled, Stein said some publishers
withhold that fact from professors when they give out catalogs offering course
materials for the coming semesters.
In other instances, publishers do not offer textbooks unbundled, forcing professors
to buy possibly unnecessary materials, which end up costing the students more
money.
“It’s not nice, but it is legal,” Stein said.
Another issue costing students more in the long run is publishers’ habit
of printing a new edition of a textbook every two or three years, which limits
books the school can buy back.
“It’s the fact that they give you nothing when you spend so much,” Sal
Torres, a financing student said.
“Calculus hasn’t changed in how long?” Stein joked.
PIRG recently compared the 4th and 5th editions of “Calculus: Early Trans-cendentals,” an
introductory textbook for calculus students, and found only minimal changes,
nothing that could not be added as a supplement instead of a new edition, according
to PIRG.
The concern with new editions being released every few years is that it shortens
the lifespan that textbooks can be used. Though the changes may be few, the
Cal State Long Beach bookstore will not buy back earlier editions of a textbook
if the professor is using the most recent edition.
That choice isn’t up to the bookstore, according to Fred Neely, director
of bookstore services.
“Our goal is to have as many used books on the shelves as we can,” Neely
said.
Tom Maricich, professor of organic chemistry on campus, understands the problem
with trying to sell used books back, and recommends students keep texts on
a subject they are going to study in the future for reference.
“If the book is part of their major, keep it as long as possible,” he
said.
Students and the government have the textbook industry cornered, according
to Stein.
“If we start to damage the image of the company, then they’ll start
to listen,” she said. “The idea is not to make learning into a rip-off.”
PIRG’s
10 tips for saving money and changing
the textbook industry
• Buy textbooks overseas through the Internet
• Use an online bookswap such as www.campusbookswap.com
• Ask your professor for the previous edition’s syllabus and buy
the older edition
• Borrow a free copy of the book from the campus library or professor
• Ask your professor to negotiate lower prices and longer shelf lives for
books
• Ask professors to put in their orders for textbooks early
• Ask professors to order unbundled textbooks
• Contact the publishers directly and make your opinion heard
• Contact your elected officials with your view
• Start a textbook rental service on campus |
