Electronic textbooks just make sense when you compare the cheaper cost for students, not to mention the royalty benefits for authors and publishers. With a growing demand for digital textbooks on college campuses, college instructors assigning texts and authors of the texts (which in some cases might be the one and the same) might dig their heels in at first and demand that students purchase the newest edition of their book from the campus bookstore. However, students are smarter than that, and when it comes to choosing between eating and a textbook—they will generally go for the former and seek out textbooks at cheaper cost—either online or via textbook rental sites. Digital textbooks offer benefits for students, and believe it or not, for authors and publishers as well in the following ways.
Why online textbooks make sense for students
1. Digital textbooks can be purchased at approximately half the cost of printed, new textbooks: For example, digital copies of textbooks are $75 compared to $120 for a new print version and the e-book version of A Writer’s Reference in seventh edition is going for $31 while the new print version is $75 on Amazon.com.
2. Digital textbooks are easier on the back: It’s true, just ask any poor student schlepping around an 800-page textbook to class every day.
3. E-copies of books can be programmed to be time leased: This means that the digital copy will exist on a student’s computer for a certain time duration, and when time is up the textbook is deleted from the student’s hard drive. This frees up space devoted to large texts on the student’s computer.
Why online textbooks make sense for instructors
1. E-textbooks substantially reduce the cost of classroom materials—things like printing, binding, warehousing, returns, distribution, and other publisher costs are eliminated from classroom overhead. So instructors can assign the book they want without worrying about cost to their students.
2. Providing books on an electronic platforms permits college instructors and university professors to modify texts for their own classes and allows them to highlight important material they want their specific students to study.
3. Instructors are able to eliminate material that isn’t required in digital copies of texts—and they only have to do it once to make it seamless across the student body.
4. Using an electronic platform, the college instructor can add complementary material—like video clips, lab notes, or self-test material—to aid education.
Why online textbooks make sense for textbook authors
1. Electronic books can include the same distribution rights as music. So, for instance, once a copy of a text is downloaded to an individual computer that text can’t be uploaded, transferred or copied to any other computer—thus protecting the royalties of the author.
2. E-books virtually eliminate the unfair pricing from sellers of printed used-books.
3. E-texts are sold until a new edition is written. This means that less old copies remain in circulation (as with older editions of printed texts) and new editions are published only textbooks are updated with legitimate changes.
4. Digital textbooks literally cut out the middle men (e.g., distribution and publishers’ costs) leaving increased royalties for the author.
Tina Jacobs is a registered nurse and freelance writer who has written for numerous print and online publications on topics ranging from education to money saving tips for college students such as textbook rentals. Tina is a proud Georgetown University and plans to expand her portfolio while she waits to take her nursing licensure via the NCLEX exam. Most days, Tina can be found studying or writing in her beautiful bay window with her cat, Oscar, for company.
Save Your Cash is an
I buy all my kids text books online, will never use those campus bookstores again
I do the same with my kids it so much better this way.