Spring Break
The Daily OrangeGroup to fight rising book costs
By Mackenzie Reiss
Posted: 1/27/08, 11:26 PM EST Section: News
An alternative explanation for rising prices is the growing popularity of bundled textbooks.
These packages include supplemental CD-ROMs, workbooks and DVDs, which are used rarely, if at all, according to 65 percent of university professors contributing to the GAO report. The report also states that they, "best explain price increases in recent years."
Professors are often prevented from seeking out the cheapest textbooks largely due to a lack of communication between the teachers and textbook publishers, according to the GAO report.
Online book sellers offer used books and older editions at a fraction of the cost. For example, a fifth edition copy of Calculus: Early Transcendentals costs $178.50 at the Orange Bookstore. But a used earlier edition is priced at just $27 on amazon.com.
Book exchange is another alternative to sticker shock. While book swapping casually occurs between students in similar classes, campusbookswap.org offers a more organized format.
"Online book shopping is a great option and will hopefully put some pressure on textbook publishers to bring their prices more in line," said Hackman who cited that NYPIRG is currently developing their own program. Nypirg.org/bx should be up and running by the semester's end.
These packages include supplemental CD-ROMs, workbooks and DVDs, which are used rarely, if at all, according to 65 percent of university professors contributing to the GAO report. The report also states that they, "best explain price increases in recent years."
Professors are often prevented from seeking out the cheapest textbooks largely due to a lack of communication between the teachers and textbook publishers, according to the GAO report.
Online book sellers offer used books and older editions at a fraction of the cost. For example, a fifth edition copy of Calculus: Early Transcendentals costs $178.50 at the Orange Bookstore. But a used earlier edition is priced at just $27 on amazon.com.
Book exchange is another alternative to sticker shock. While book swapping casually occurs between students in similar classes, campusbookswap.org offers a more organized format.
"Online book shopping is a great option and will hopefully put some pressure on textbook publishers to bring their prices more in line," said Hackman who cited that NYPIRG is currently developing their own program. Nypirg.org/bx should be up and running by the semester's end.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
j mellett
posted 1/28/08 @ 4:26 PM EST
Why not buy access to your books online?
www.coursesmart.com sells access to most required textbooks.
You get exactly what you want immediately--no old edition, no international edition, no beat up, marked up books. (Continued…)
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