Textbooks are expensive. I know, I know--so what's new? My daughter, a first-year student at VCSU, spent $287 and some change for two books. Thank heavens she has a mom in academia who was able to let her borrow her desk copies for English and for Speech. And thank heavens she was able to test out of her computer class.
Why do we, as instructors, do this to our students?
And why do publishers do this to the students?
Well, when an author signs a contract to write a textbook, they are signing their life away.
Okay, that may be an exaggeration.
But often the authors promise to update the books every two years. This means a new edition to the books every two years. And yes, this means that used books become obsolete every two years.
Why?
Well, publishers are for-profit businesses. Used books don't provide any income for the publishers. New books, do.
So do the authors get rich? No, for each book sold, they get about 10% of the cost of that book. Do bookstores get rich? No, they get about 30% of the cost of that book.
That means 60% goes to the publisher. But remembr that part of that goes to editors, printers, binding, promotional materials, reviewers, and other expenses.
As the world becomes more digital, though, online textbooks are becoming more popular.
E-textbooks, which can be read online or on such devices as Kindle, are accessed for a short while, but then access can be limited after a specific amount of time. The benefit to textbook companies is that the books are not sold back to the bookstore--thus there are no used books in circulation. Publishers will make money with every "book" sold.
E-books. Hmmmm... There's something about the feel of paper between my hands. There's something about the feel of a cover, the size of the letters, the tangible touching of a book. For textbooks, I write in them! I react! I underline and highlight! I circle and cross-reference.
I am used to reading text on a screen. I have become quite adept to it in the ten years I have been teaching classes online. But again, there is nothing like having that paper in my hands.
Will I be making the switch? I have learned that when it comes to technology, never to say "never."
And right now I feel like my mom probably felt when she was my age and I was trying to teach her how to program her VCR.
But for now, give me paper. Give me ink. I'll continue to "pay the price" in purchasing books...
...well, at least for this year....
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What a timely idea you discuss here. I have been out of college for 18 years. I vaguely remember that the cost of textbooks was high, but just after taking 2 classes towards my masters degree I was dumbfounded at the price of books. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I am now responsible for paying for all of my college expenses. 18 years ago Dad picked up the tab for everything.
ReplyDeleteI considered buying the text for Educ 630 on Amazon but was totally afraid of getting the wrong edition. It was interesting to learn all the info you had about authours and publishers and why there are SO many darn editions to any book.
I can relate to the process an author goes through when writing a textbook in that it seems very similar to music in print. That has always been a sore spot to music teachers and their budgets. It is the same concept with a majority of the money going to the publisher, editor, and so on. It drives the cost of each copy of music way up and makes it almost impossible to afford getting new, up to date music
I share the same feeling about have a hard copy of a book in my hand to mark it up and take notes and so on. E-books seem like a logical idea, but practical at this point - unsure.
You did help me make one decision I have been contemplating for awhile though, and it is completely unrelated to this class. I have been thinking about Kindle for my mom. She loves to read, but after thinking about what you said about your mom and the early stages of technology, it would be a complete waste of money to get Kindle for her. She would never use it and it would sit idle just like the well-intentioned digital photo frame I got her 2 years ago for a holiday gift.
Textbooks are extremely angering, depressing, and a big rip off when we have so much technology at our fingers. I have been in about 4 classes now through undergrad and grad school where I signed up for a class and the instructor wants to use a brand new book that came out a week ago and costs in excess of $100 to $200. Why should we have to pay for a brand new edition that only has 1 or 2 additions when the previous edition is completely fine? Now I understand that continuing education and having the latest information is great. But if we have a paper book, they have to print new editions almost yearly. If we went to completely online text, only a matter of a few clicks could change the edition and there would be no need to increase the cost of an updated version. Books are becoming out of date because of the time to write, evaluate, publish, print, and ship. Electronic texts can be written and almost immediately published and distributed to millions by simply downloading. What a thought. We could eliminate the publishers all together and their outrageous costs by simply bypassing them.
ReplyDeleteMy friend, Kataryna, had to purchase a textbook for her art class. Guess how much that cost. I bet you wouldn't be surprised that a used book was $120 would you? The new text was over $240. Her professor said that he had work in that textbook, so every edition sold was money in his pocket. Wouldn't you want royalties from text books sold? Updated editions keep those royalty checks coming to those professors.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's the all part of the economic wheel. The professor that says, "Buy the old edition and I'll tell you what few updates they made to it," is a professor that isn't receiving royalties for their own textbook contributions. That may even be a the type of person that would be inclined to say, "Don't buy the album from that band, I'll burn you a copy."
I don't doubt e-books are here. They will never take over the actual publishing markets, however. Napster didn't take over sales from record labels as they had feared. Publishers will just create digital payment plans that suit their needs. Just like the music sharing sites pay bands who want to participate royalties, publishing sites can charge for e-books and return the royalties to authors who want to participate in that medium.
When it comes to money, don't short change publishers or viable businesses. They will figure out how to get your money in new and creative ways. The average person is trying to save money in creative ways. Companies need to be one step ahead of the people who try to skate around paying for a product while still getting full use of it. If they don't, they'll be out of business sooner than they hope.
As far as the professors "making" student use the resource for their classes, I've heard about and experienced many classes that could have simply gone without any text what-so-ever. By the time I was a senior in undergraduate college, I figured out how to get around actually owning a text by purchasing time, or renting a text from friends when I felt I needed it. Sometimes I found a professor never actually used the text at all. From my perspective, my money was wasted.
If the goal of an author is to not be published or write for any personal gain, then they can create blogs. If they would like to be paid for their work and knowledge, which isn't a horrible thing, they should sign with a publisher that asks them to update the edition every few years. I don't think we would say an artist shouldn't profit from his contribution whether his medium is music, paintings, or a textbook. It's all art. Some people don't think we should pay for it, and others do. If you want to be an artist, you're probably going to be poor until that one work that sets you apart from the amateurs and you finally are paid for your contribution to society... unless of course, everyone is violating copyright laws.
I'm not an author, publisher, musician or artist, but I am a student and a teacher. Without them, I could not successfully teach or learn as much as I do. As I support my local businesses I believe in, I support authors, musicians, and artists by paying what I believe their worth is in this day and age. If I wasn't a teacher or a student, I wouldn't be faced with the decision to support them.