To: College Text Book Publishers
Tell College Textbook Publishers to Make More Textbooks Available as eTextbooks
I was shocked recently as I tried to purchase eTextbooks for the upcoming college semester. After carrying around what feels like a 100lbs of textbooks around everyday, trying to maneuver a stuffed-to-the-hilt backpack up and down curbs, stairs, and narrow rows of desks, I decided there had to be a better way. I thought I had it all figured out when I purchased a well-known brand name eReader.
Excited that I would cut down on the amount of weight I had to carry and the amount of natural resources I would waste, I quickly set out visiting top name websites for eTextbook downloads. It turns out that out of the 7 textbooks I was looking for not one of them was available to purchase as an eTextbook. I could rent them for 180 days at near cost of purchasing them as a new paper copy or I could purchase them as a paper copy for a bit more. The cheapest eTextbook rental was $85 (many were only dollars less than their paper counterparts), but I prefer to own my books to use as reference down the line, and I could buy the same $85 180 day eTextbook rental for $100+ and have it forever to refer back to when writing research papers or further investigating a subject. After much frustration I finally contacted one of these websites to ask why I couldn't own my eTextbook and they clued me in. Publishers decide if Textbooks come in e-versions and the same Publishers decide if these eTextbooks are available for purchase or rent. It is less cost effective for students to rent an eTextbook but the profit is huge for Publishers who already are saving on production and personell costs. There is no reason for Publishers to bar textbook sellers from selling eTextbooks instead of renting them, their actions are unfair to students who already struggle to cover the living and college costs in today's economy, and ridiculously greedy given the already high cost of eTextbook rentals. Sign my petition and ask textbook publishers to do the right thing and give college students full access to the books they need and the books they pay for.
Excited that I would cut down on the amount of weight I had to carry and the amount of natural resources I would waste, I quickly set out visiting top name websites for eTextbook downloads. It turns out that out of the 7 textbooks I was looking for not one of them was available to purchase as an eTextbook. I could rent them for 180 days at near cost of purchasing them as a new paper copy or I could purchase them as a paper copy for a bit more. The cheapest eTextbook rental was $85 (many were only dollars less than their paper counterparts), but I prefer to own my books to use as reference down the line, and I could buy the same $85 180 day eTextbook rental for $100+ and have it forever to refer back to when writing research papers or further investigating a subject. After much frustration I finally contacted one of these websites to ask why I couldn't own my eTextbook and they clued me in. Publishers decide if Textbooks come in e-versions and the same Publishers decide if these eTextbooks are available for purchase or rent. It is less cost effective for students to rent an eTextbook but the profit is huge for Publishers who already are saving on production and personell costs. There is no reason for Publishers to bar textbook sellers from selling eTextbooks instead of renting them, their actions are unfair to students who already struggle to cover the living and college costs in today's economy, and ridiculously greedy given the already high cost of eTextbook rentals. Sign my petition and ask textbook publishers to do the right thing and give college students full access to the books they need and the books they pay for.
Why is this important?
So few textbooks are available as eTextbooks, and fewer still are available for purchase by students. In the new digital age, with the rising cost of living and college, students deserve a lower cost alternative to heavy and resource exhausting college books that utilize the high tech equipment we all rely on.