For college students buckling under the pressure of rising textbook prices, a digital solution may soon be on the way. A report released today by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance suggests a number of short- and long-term solutions, including the creation of a national digital marketplace for textbooks, whose costs can be comparable to 20 percent of what’s spent on tuition and fees at a four-year public institution.
“What is needed is a collaborative effort to build a true 21st-century solution—a national, digital marketplace—that can meet the needs of all stakeholders, particularly students and families,” said the committee. According to Dave Rosenfeld, national program director of the Student Public Interest Research Groups, the textbook market is heavily influenced by two factors not common to other businesses: lack of direct competition among publishers because each book is copyright-protected and the lack of a choice for students because they have to buy what the course requires. Rosenfeld says the committee offers “a smart package of solutions that over time can introduce real competition.”
Extract taken from;
Committee Offers Plan for Making College Textbooks Affordable By Christina Mueller
USNews.com, 6/1/07