Textbook
Bundling & Customization: Is There Value?
News
Across the nation newspapers and other public interest groups, including
state legislatures, are beginning to investigate. Here are a few examples:
- The Washington Post published an article on September 18, 2004, "Textbook Prices on the Rise," that focused on how frequent new editions and supplemental materials are driving up the cost of textbooks for college students.
- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) is urging the U.S. Department
of Education to work with book publishers and schools to find ways to
lower book costs for students, specifically to ensure that students
can buy only the texts they need for classes without being forced to
purchase unneeded extras as part of a bundle.
- A recent article in The New York Times quoted a former editorial
director at a textbook publishing company as explaining that, "Publishers
release new editions of successful textbooks every few years —
not to improve content, although that may be a byproduct — but
to discourage the sales of used books by making them seem obselete."
- A legislative panel in Tennessee is investigating why college textbooks
selling for up to $200 per book are not able to be re-used and re-sold
after their first year of use.
- The New York Times has raised awareness of book prices by
reporting that, on average, books are 50 percent less expensive in Europe,
thereby leading students to order books overseas.
- CalPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group) is drafting legislation
with the goal of changing publisher practices with regards to unnecessarily
producing new editions.
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