Text-economics

Boston University College’ of Arts and Sciences senior Nichole Szembrot has not spent any money on textbooks for her classes this semester.’

While she said she has spent more than $500 on books in the past, her experience has taught her she can save money by either going online and settling for older versions of the text, using a digital version of the text if her professor provides it or simply not buying the books at all.

‘I try to avoid getting textbooks unless I really need them for the class,’ Szembrot said. ‘I’ll borrow from a friend if I can.’

As some students continue to look for ways to get around spending the money on textbooks, they are not only looking toward a practice as traditional as buying or borrowing a hard-copy, they are also taking advantage of newer technology such as electronic books, or eBooks, and even the pirating of these texts.

In trying to keep up with a growing interest in digital media, and to discourage people from pirating digital media illegally, publishers have started offering protected digital formats of texts for cheaper prices, according to Association of American Publishers Executive Director for Higher Education Bruce Hildebrand.’

‘Students like and are starting to expect digital materials now,’ Hildebrand said. ‘The textbook business is now changing rather dramatically.’

As a result, university bookstores nationwide have seen unprecedented declines in textbook sales, according to BU’s Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education Victor Coelho.

‘Digital books aren’t something directly challenging the existence of hard-copy books yet’ Coelho said, ‘But a disturbing and still troubling issue is that students just are not buying books like they used to.’

However, despite the newest technology, some BU students’ refuse to let go of their hard-copy books, keeping stores like Barnes and Noble major players in the textbook business model.

the textbook business model

Though some price-conscious students try to find less expensive ways of purchasing textbooks, the economics of the textbook market make it almost impossible for other book sellers to offer the same merchandise for much less money, despite what they claim, according to Microeconomics Professor Michael Manove.

Manove said the dramatic reduction of prices that textbook selling Web sites claim to offer is nearly impossible because of the monopoly academic publishers have in the textbook market.

‘Like all monopolies, publishers will charge what the market will bear,’ Manove said. ‘The major cost of textbooks comes from the publisher, not from the seller and not from the retail merchant.’

Although Manove said Barnes and Noble most likely charges markups of around 30 percent, slightly higher than the traditional book store, other sellers must also charge some kind of markup to make a profit, causing a minimal price difference.

Another factor of the textbook market burning a hole in students’ wallets is the difference between the person choosing the book, the professor and the person paying for the book, the student, Manove said.

‘When you have the buyer and payer being different, you have a problem,’ he said.’ ‘Professors don’t ask about the prices. They just choose the textbook they like.’

Because of these imperfections in the textbook market, other sellers, including online book sellers, have very little breathing room when it comes to lowering prices, unless they offer older editions of the textbook, which can be updated as often as every one to two years, according to Manove.

‘The fact is, I know that textbooks are a tiny part of the total cost of education, and better textbooks make a difference in the quality of education,’ Manove said. ‘It’s one of those few things students have a feeling they can control, so they get anxious about spending money on textbooks, but it’s nothing compared to the cost of tuition.’

According to Manove, the real change to the textbook market that will affect prices is the popularization of eBooks and eBook readers, devices that students read all of their digital texts from.

Out With the Old and in With the New

A few years ago, it may not have been uncommon for many students to go to the library and check out textbooks some professors would reserve for a class.

However, library reserves are emptying as digital media takes its place,, according to Mugar Memorial University Librarian Bob Hudson.

‘We’ve seen a small decline in material put on reserve by professors partly because of electronic substitutes,’ he said. ‘In some ways I also think it’s a reflection of the high cost of hard-copy books.’

Some BU professors, such as College of Communication Professor Carolyn Clark, are offering students online versions of coursework and textbooks instead of the traditional hard copies.

Clark’s class in the fall of 2008 had the option of using an online version of the required introduction to advertising textbook through the Web site CourseSmart.com, where students can log on and purchase their textbook in a digital format, if offered by their professor.

Clark said the students who chose to rent the book online for the semester were able to save money, though she did not ask for student feedback or keep track of how many students used an online version.

COM junior Cayla O’Connell, Clark’s former student, said she decided to use the online version of the book because she saved almost $100, and preferred carrying her laptop to class rather than a heavy book.

‘I was able to highlight, copy and paste words into a Microsoft Word document, and I had a review sheet,’ O’Connell said. ‘It makes the process of learning faster because you don’t have to lug a book around and transfer things onto your notes.’

However, like the music and movie industry, as the book industry starts to go digital, publishers are increasingly faced with copyright and infringement issues, Hildebrand said.

He said while most eBooks are protected against most forms of copyright infringement, people are scanning books and uploading them to websites, which offer these texts to others free of charge.

‘There are sites encouraging people to scan books and their users think these are the good guys, but they’re still making money through advertising,’ Hildebrand said.

However, Shar Roby, the chief information officer for ContentRealTime.com, a website that allows users to pay to download content, said she does not think some copyright infringement is necessarily a bad thing.

‘Readers as a general rule want to help the authors,’ Roby said. ‘A certain amount of passing around is a good thing.’

Roby said although her website does not currently monitor the posting of copyrighted material, she does not think the problem of piracy will be as severe as in other industries because the consumers of textbooks are older and more aware of copyright laws.

Staying with Tradition

As with most traditions, there are still many people clinging to the old ways, not ready to relinquish the turning of pages of a hard-copy book to scrolling down on a computer screen.

‘There’s more than just the content of the book. There is also the physical nature that is appealing to people,’ Coelho said. ‘Having a collection of books also represents possession.’

Though Hildebrand said the textbook industry is currently changing dramatically because of the available legal and illegal digital textbooks, many students will not be willing to change their ways as quickly as others.

‘Students are happy to do some reading online, but with dense textbooks they still prefer the portable flexibility and the ‘we got it in our hands’ feel,’ Hildebrand said. ‘This is an evolutionary process.’

Several BU students said despite electronic text and online sources, they still find buying a hard copy book from Barnes and Noble the easiest and most convenient option.

‘I think a hard copy is easier to take places than a computer,’ CAS sophomore Caitlin Devitt said. ‘It might cost more, but I think it’s easier to work with a hard copy.’

Even as Szembrot hopes not to have to spend the money on textbooks for the semester, she also admitted a hard-copy book could be more useful than its digital counterpart in certain circumstances. ‘If it’s going to be a book I’ll use in the future, I’d probably rather have a hard copy of it to keep,’ she said.’ ‘I don’t think people are just going to give up on hard copies.’