The textbook market does not operate in exactly the same manner as most consumer markets.

First,
the end consumers (students) do not select the product, and the product is not purchased by faculty
or professors. Therefore, price is removed from the purchasing decision, giving the producer
(publishers) disproportionate market power to set prices high.
This fundamental difference in the market is often cited as the primary reason that prices are out of
control. The term "broken market" first appeared in the economist James Koch's analysis of the
market commissioned by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[6]
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of competition in the textbook market. Consolidation in the
past few decades[when?] has reduced the number of major textbook companies from around 30 to
just a handful.[7]Consequently, there is less competition than there used to be, and the high cost of
starting up keeps new companies from entering.
New editions and the used book market[edit]

Students seek relief from rising prices through the purchase of used copies of textbooks, which tend
to be less expensive. Most college bookstores offer used copies of textbooks at lower prices. Most
bookstores will also buy used copies back from students at the end of a term if the book is going to
be re-used at the school. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an
off-campus wholesaler for 0-30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores where the
books will be sold. Textbook companies have countered this by encouraging faculty to assign
homework that must be done on the publisher's website. If a student has a new textbook then he or
she can use the pass code in the book to register on the site. If the student has purchased a used
textbook then he or she must pay money directly to the publisher in order to access the website and
complete assigned homework.
Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or
title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used book sellers or retailers.
Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math
& science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about
significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another
tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up
prices," [8] A study conducted by The Student PIRGsfound that a new edition costs 12% more than a
new copy of previous edition, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook
publishers maintain these new editions are driven by faculty demand. The Student PIRGs' study
found that 76% of faculty said new editions were justified half of the time or less and 40% said they
were justified rarely or never.[9] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue
that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per
student.[10]

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on electronic textbooks, or "eTextbooks,"
does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not
recover any of the cost through resale.[11]
Bundling[edit]
Another publishing industry practice that has been highly criticized is "bundling," or shrink-wrapping
supplemental items into a textbook.[citation needed] Supplemental items range from CD-ROMs and
workbooks to online passcodes and bonus material. Students do not always have the option to
purchase these items separately, and often the one-time-use supplements destroy the resale value
of the textbook.[12]
According to the Student PIRGs, the typical bundled textbook is 10%-50% more than an unbundled
textbook, and 65% of professors said they rarely or never use the bundled items in their
courses.[9]
A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report found that the production of these
supplemental items was the primary cause of rapidly increasing prices:
While publishers, retailers, and wholesalers all play a role in textbook pricing, the primary factor
contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers
have made in new products to enhance instruction and learning...While wholesalers, retailers, and
others do not question the quality of these materials, they have expressed concern that the
publishers practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the
opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books....If publishers continue to increase
these investments, particularly in technology, the cost to produce a textbook is likely to continue to
increase in the future.[13]
Bundling has also been used as a means of segmenting the used book market. Each combination of a
textbook and supplemental items receives a separate ISBN. A single textbook could therefore have
dozens of ISBNs that denote different combinations of supplements packaged with that particular
book. When a bookstore attempts to track down used copies of textbooks, they will search for the
ISBN the course instructor orders, which will locate only a subset of the copies of the textbook.
Legislation on the state and federal level seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring
publishers to offer all components separately.[14] Publishers have testified in favor of bills including
this provision,[15] but only in the case that the provision exempts the loosely defined category of
"integrated textbooks." The Federal bill[16] only exempts 3rd party materials in integrated textbooks,
however publisher lobbyists have attempted to create a loophole through this definition in state
bills.[17][18]
Price disclosure[edit]
Given that the problem of high textbook prices is linked to the "broken" economics of the market,
requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices to faculty is a solution pursued by a number of
legislatures.[19] By inserting price into sales interactions, this regulation will supposedly make the
economic forces operate more normally.
No data suggests that this is in fact true. However, The Student PIRGs have found that publishers
actively withhold pricing information from faculty, making it difficult to obtain. Their most recent
study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only
40% got an answer when they directly asked. Furthermore, the study found that 23% of faculty rated

publisher websites as informative and easy to use and less than half said they typically listed the
price.[20]
The US Congress passed a law in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act that would require price
disclosure.[14][21][22] Legislation requiring price disclosure has passed in Connecticut,[23]
Washington,[24][25] Minnesota,[26]Oregon,[24] Arizona,[27] Oklahoma,[28] and Colorado.[18]
Publishers are currently supporting price disclosure mandates, though they insist that the "suggested
retail price"[29] should be disclosed, rather than the actual price the publisher would get for the
book.
Used textbook market[edit]
Once a textbook is purchased from a retailer for the first time, there are several ways a student can
sell his/her textbooks back at the end of the semester. Students can sell to 1) the college/university
bookstore; 2) fellow students; or 3) a number of online Web sites or student swap service.
Campus buyback[edit]
As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student
receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom
text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the
next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not
received a faculty order for the book at the end of the term and the edition is still current, they may
offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new
retail price, according to the GAO report.[13]
When students resell their textbooks during campus buyback periods, these textbooks are often
sold into the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on
campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to
a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically
75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective
companies to continue to operate.
Student to student sales[edit]
Students can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will
often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in
purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books
or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many
larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These
often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse
for those they wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire
specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.
Student online marketplaces[edit]
Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used
textbooks. Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list
their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book
themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of

selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their
books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books
individually.
Online book buyers[edit]
Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the aim of reselling
them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students
the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students
enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or offer. These
online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book),
and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying
books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can get on online marketplaces.
However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service.
Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a
lower total cost than even textbook rental services.
Textbook exchanges[edit]
In response to escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient
system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of
today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the
sale is completed.
According to textbook author Henry L. Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor
Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of
textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of
textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, and passing laws to prevent the sale
of used books.[30] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software,
which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand
that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old
tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal.
Rental programs[edit]
In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party
facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods,
opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles
or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system.
Textbook Sharing[edit]
Another method to help students save money that is coming up is called Textbooks Sharing. Using
textbook sharing the students share the physical textbook with other students, and also the cost of
the book is divided among the users of the textbook. So over the life of the textbook, if 4 students
use the textbook, the cost of the textbook for each student will be 25% of the total cost of the book.
Open textbooks[edit]
Main article: Open textbooks

The latest trend in textbooks is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed
textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and
are being used at schools such as MIT and Harvard.[31] A 2010 study published found that open
textbooks offer a viable and attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering
savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options.[32]
Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies
suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.[33][citation needed] To offer
another perspective[citation needed], any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient
numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open
textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work.
The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is that textbooks with good sales and
profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary
textbooks.[citation needed] Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in
the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the
following: higher retail prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles
published.
On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing.
Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open
textbooks that are used by more than 900 institutions in 44 countries.[34][35][36] Their business
model[37] was to offer the open textbook free online,[38][39] and then sell ancillary products that
students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle),
PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on these sales.[40]
With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a
goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World
Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for
students.[41] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highestenrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.[42]
CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses.[43] CK-12
FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state
textbook standards. CK-12 FlexBooks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. CK12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading
devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School
districts may select a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards.
The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without
paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example
print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages,
royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011).[44] (Any print on demand
service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower
prices for bulk purchases to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for
educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are
vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state
educational standards correlations.[45] Stanford University provided a number of titles in use.[46]
Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profit "empowering educators to deliver and share
curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards.[47]

Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular
lessons or special topics.
International market pricing[edit]
Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, the GAO report[13]
also highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have
expressed concern about the re-importation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations.
Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels
outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.
Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened
distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult
to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of College
Stores. Retailers and publishers have also been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged
in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from
international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza
protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under thefirst-sale doctrine, textbook publishers
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which
forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.[48] Concerned about the effects of
differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on
publishers to stop the practice of selling textbooks at lower prices outside the United States.[49] For
example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then reshipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book).
The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the charges for returned
books from bookstores.
Production[edit]
Cost distribution[edit]
According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by
expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a
committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% going to the store, and 64.6% going to the
publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada.[citation needed]
Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with
publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks.[citation needed]
Research[edit]
According to the GAO study published July 2005:
Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college
textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades.
Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall
average price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and
fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and
overall prices grew by 72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed
increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a
percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average
estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004

was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year
public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and
tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time
student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of
tuition and fees.[13]
According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
published in February 2005[citation needed]: "Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times
the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price
Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994,
while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period."
According to the 2007 edition of the College Boards Trend in College Pricing Report published
October 2007[citation needed]: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown
slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, as a percentage of total college costs,
have remained steady at about 5 percent."
K-12 textbooks[edit]
In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a
selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive
the books to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use
textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead.
Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state
purchasing controls over the books, most notably in Texas, where the Texas Education Agency sets
curricula for all courses taught by the state's 1,000+ school districts, and therefore also approves
which textbooks can be purchased.
High school[edit]
In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism.
Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks:
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything
Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain
mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to
what most students learn in universities. Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other
literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to theSoviet Union (USSR) and
the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political
forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.[citation needed]
Science textbooks have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from
several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been
debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to
declining grades in mathematics and science in the United States and organizations such as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount
of material given in textbooks.
Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education
debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a
debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P.
Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science
textbooks.[50] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical
phenomena; then a company sent for reasons of timing a textbook that contained blank pages,
which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery.
Mathematics[edit]
Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the
controversies of new math and reform mathematics which have sought to replace traditional
mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other
areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast
"progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with approaches that often
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or
omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common
denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own
method to multiply fractions which work on these examples", and the formula for the area of a circle
would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s,
while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as
unworkable.[citation needed]
Higher education[edit]
In the U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by
the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the
books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental
services and library reserve copies of texts, are available in some instances.
In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher
education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise.
With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every aspect of
college pricing, including textbooks, which in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The
2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s,
textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades[citation
needed]. A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices [13]
increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.[51] A June 2007 Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) report, Turn the Page, reported that the average U.S.
student spends $700$1000 per year on textbooks.[52]
While many groups have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found
that assigning blame to any one partyfaculty, colleges, bookstores or publishersfor current
textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry
to work together to find productive solutions, which included a movement toward open textbooks
and other lower-cost digital solutions.
Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case
books consisting of cases available free online.
Textbook bias on controversial topics[edit]

In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, the writer might be biased
towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific
theories are common potential biases.
See also[edit]

Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States.

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. - 2013 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding
textbook resale

Japanese textbook controversy

Pakistani textbooks controversy

Kanawha County textbook controversy

Sourcebook collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United
States

Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks.

Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly
in the book.

Problem book - A textbook, usually graduate level, organized as a series of problems and full
solutions.

Open textbook - More information about open textbook options.

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Jump up^ See Flat World Knowledge's website

41.

Jump up^ [1] Flat World Knowledge Website.

42.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge gets $15 million in Funding. Publishers Weekly.January 20,
2011.
43.

Jump up^ CK-12 FlexBooks. Homepage.

44.

Jump up^ Carl Stitz/Jeff Zeager on Ohio Textbook HQ 2010.

45.

Jump up^ CK-12 - Standards Correlations United States.

46.
Jump up^ Human Biology - Genetics CK-12 FlexBook by The Program in Human Biology,
Stanford University. (sample of free web access format)
47.

Jump up^ Curriki.org Homepage.

48.
Jump up^ Lewin, Tamar (21 October 2003). "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50,
Purchased Overseas". The New York Times. Retrieved24 September 2009.
49.
Jump up^ "Testimony of Marc L. Fleischaker, Counsel, National Association of College
Stores". Hearing on "Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?". U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. 20
July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
50.

Jump up^ Book Review: Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman!

51.

Jump up^ Rip-off 101: Second Edition, The Student PIRGs (2005)

52.

Jump up^ http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/edlite-txtbkstudy.html

Further reading[edit]

Baier, Kylie, et al. "College students textbook reading, or not." American Reading Forum
Annual Yearbook Vol. 31. 2011. online

Berkeley, Sheri, et al. "Are History Textbooks More Considerate After 20 Years?." Journal of
Special Education (2014) 47#4 PP: 217-230.

Buczynski, James A. "Faculty begin to replace textbooks with freely accessible online
resources." Internet Reference Services Quarterly (2007) 11#4 pp: 169-179.

Campbell, Alex, and Mr Flint. "New Digital Tools Let Professors Tailor Their Own Textbooks
for Under $20 And that's just one option, along with mix-and-match Web sites from big publishers
and libraries of open-source content." Chronicle of Higher Education (October 9, 2011). online

Carbaugh, Robert, and Koushik Ghosh. "Are college textbooks priced fairly?." Challenge
(2005) 48#5 pp: 95-112.

Casper, Scott E. et al. "Textbooks Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation about History,
Pedagogy, and Economics." Journal of American History (2014) 100#4 pp 11391169.

Chiappetta, Eugene L., and David A. Fillman. "Analysis of five high school biology textbooks
used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science." International Journal of Science
Education (2007) 29#15 pp: 1847-1868.

Doering, Torsten, Luiz Pereira, and L. Kuechler. "The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A
case study." Berlin (Germany): E-Leader (2012). online

Elliott, David L., and Arthur Woodward, eds. Textbooks and schooling in the United States
Vol. 89. NSSE, 1990.

Kahveci, Ajda. "Quantitative analysis of science and chemistry textbooks for indicators of
reform: A complementary perspective." International Journal of Science Education (2010) 32#11 pp:
1495-1519.

Koulaidis, Vasilis, and Anna Tsatsaroni. "A pedagogical analysis of science textbooks: How can
we proceed?." Research in Science Education (1996) 26#1 pp: 55-71.

Liang, Ye, and William W. Cobern. "Analysis of a Typical Chinese High School Biology
Textbook Using the AAAS Textbook Standards." (2013). online

Myers, Gregory A. "Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge." English for Specific
purposes (1992) 11#1: 3-17.

Richardson, Paul W. "Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study
from Economics." Studies in Higher Education (2004) 29#4: 505-521. online; on Australia

Roediger III, Henry L. "Writing Textbooks: Why Doesnt It Count?." Observer (2004) 17#5
online

Silver, Lawrence S., Robert E. Stevens, and Kenneth E. Clow. "Marketing professors
perspectives on the cost of college textbooks: a pilot study." Journal of Education for Business (2012)
87#1 pp: 1-6.


Stone, Robert W., and Lori J. Baker-Eveleth. "Students intentions to purchase electronic
textbooks." Journal of Computing in Higher Education (2013) 25#1 pp: 27-47.

Weiten, Wayne. "Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to

professors' impressions." Teaching of Psychology (1988) 15#1 pp: 10-16.

The textbook market does not operate in exactly the same manner as most consumer markets. First,
the end consumers (students) do not select the product, and the product is not purchased by faculty
or professors. Therefore, price is removed from the purchasing decision, giving the producer
(publishers) disproportionate market power to set prices high.
This fundamental difference in the market is often cited as the primary reason that prices are out of
control. The term "broken market" first appeared in the economist James Koch's analysis of the
market commissioned by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[6]
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of competition in the textbook market. Consolidation in the
past few decades[when?] has reduced the number of major textbook companies from around 30 to
just a handful.[7]Consequently, there is less competition than there used to be, and the high cost of
starting up keeps new companies from entering.
New editions and the used book market[edit]
Students seek relief from rising prices through the purchase of used copies of textbooks, which tend
to be less expensive. Most college bookstores offer used copies of textbooks at lower prices. Most
bookstores will also buy used copies back from students at the end of a term if the book is going to
be re-used at the school. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an
off-campus wholesaler for 0-30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores where the
books will be sold. Textbook companies have countered this by encouraging faculty to assign
homework that must be done on the publisher's website. If a student has a new textbook then he or
she can use the pass code in the book to register on the site. If the student has purchased a used
textbook then he or she must pay money directly to the publisher in order to access the website and
complete assigned homework.
Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or
title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used book sellers or retailers.
Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math
& science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about
significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another
tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up
prices," [8] A study conducted by The Student PIRGsfound that a new edition costs 12% more than a
new copy of previous edition, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook
publishers maintain these new editions are driven by faculty demand. The Student PIRGs' study
found that 76% of faculty said new editions were justified half of the time or less and 40% said they
were justified rarely or never.[9] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue
that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per
student.[10]

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on electronic textbooks, or "eTextbooks,"
does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not
recover any of the cost through resale.[11]
Bundling[edit]
Another publishing industry practice that has been highly criticized is "bundling," or shrink-wrapping
supplemental items into a textbook.[citation needed] Supplemental items range from CD-ROMs and
workbooks to online passcodes and bonus material. Students do not always have the option to
purchase these items separately, and often the one-time-use supplements destroy the resale value
of the textbook.[12]
According to the Student PIRGs, the typical bundled textbook is 10%-50% more than an unbundled
textbook, and 65% of professors said they rarely or never use the bundled items in their
courses.[9]
A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report found that the production of these
supplemental items was the primary cause of rapidly increasing prices:
While publishers, retailers, and wholesalers all play a role in textbook pricing, the primary factor
contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers
have made in new products to enhance instruction and learning...While wholesalers, retailers, and
others do not question the quality of these materials, they have expressed concern that the
publishers practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the
opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books....If publishers continue to increase
these investments, particularly in technology, the cost to produce a textbook is likely to continue to
increase in the future.[13]
Bundling has also been used as a means of segmenting the used book market. Each combination of a
textbook and supplemental items receives a separate ISBN. A single textbook could therefore have
dozens of ISBNs that denote different combinations of supplements packaged with that particular
book. When a bookstore attempts to track down used copies of textbooks, they will search for the
ISBN the course instructor orders, which will locate only a subset of the copies of the textbook.
Legislation on the state and federal level seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring
publishers to offer all components separately.[14] Publishers have testified in favor of bills including
this provision,[15] but only in the case that the provision exempts the loosely defined category of
"integrated textbooks." The Federal bill[16] only exempts 3rd party materials in integrated textbooks,
however publisher lobbyists have attempted to create a loophole through this definition in state
bills.[17][18]
Price disclosure[edit]
Given that the problem of high textbook prices is linked to the "broken" economics of the market,
requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices to faculty is a solution pursued by a number of
legislatures.[19] By inserting price into sales interactions, this regulation will supposedly make the
economic forces operate more normally.
No data suggests that this is in fact true. However, The Student PIRGs have found that publishers
actively withhold pricing information from faculty, making it difficult to obtain. Their most recent
study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only
40% got an answer when they directly asked. Furthermore, the study found that 23% of faculty rated

publisher websites as informative and easy to use and less than half said they typically listed the
price.[20]
The US Congress passed a law in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act that would require price
disclosure.[14][21][22] Legislation requiring price disclosure has passed in Connecticut,[23]
Washington,[24][25] Minnesota,[26]Oregon,[24] Arizona,[27] Oklahoma,[28] and Colorado.[18]
Publishers are currently supporting price disclosure mandates, though they insist that the "suggested
retail price"[29] should be disclosed, rather than the actual price the publisher would get for the
book.
Used textbook market[edit]
Once a textbook is purchased from a retailer for the first time, there are several ways a student can
sell his/her textbooks back at the end of the semester. Students can sell to 1) the college/university
bookstore; 2) fellow students; or 3) a number of online Web sites or student swap service.
Campus buyback[edit]
As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student
receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom
text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the
next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not
received a faculty order for the book at the end of the term and the edition is still current, they may
offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new
retail price, according to the GAO report.[13]
When students resell their textbooks during campus buyback periods, these textbooks are often
sold into the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on
campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to
a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically
75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective
companies to continue to operate.
Student to student sales[edit]
Students can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will
often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in
purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books
or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many
larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These
often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse
for those they wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire
specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.
Student online marketplaces[edit]
Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used
textbooks. Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list
their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book
themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of

selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their
books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books
individually.
Online book buyers[edit]
Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the aim of reselling
them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students
the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students
enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or offer. These
online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book),
and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying
books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can get on online marketplaces.
However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service.
Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a
lower total cost than even textbook rental services.
Textbook exchanges[edit]
In response to escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient
system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of
today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the
sale is completed.
According to textbook author Henry L. Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor
Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of
textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of
textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, and passing laws to prevent the sale
of used books.[30] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software,
which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand
that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old
tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal.
Rental programs[edit]
In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party
facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods,
opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles
or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system.
Textbook Sharing[edit]
Another method to help students save money that is coming up is called Textbooks Sharing. Using
textbook sharing the students share the physical textbook with other students, and also the cost of
the book is divided among the users of the textbook. So over the life of the textbook, if 4 students
use the textbook, the cost of the textbook for each student will be 25% of the total cost of the book.
Open textbooks[edit]
Main article: Open textbooks

The latest trend in textbooks is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed
textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and
are being used at schools such as MIT and Harvard.[31] A 2010 study published found that open
textbooks offer a viable and attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering
savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options.[32]
Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies
suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.[33][citation needed] To offer
another perspective[citation needed], any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient
numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open
textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work.
The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is that textbooks with good sales and
profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary
textbooks.[citation needed] Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in
the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the
following: higher retail prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles
published.
On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing.
Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open
textbooks that are used by more than 900 institutions in 44 countries.[34][35][36] Their business
model[37] was to offer the open textbook free online,[38][39] and then sell ancillary products that
students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle),
PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on these sales.[40]
With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a
goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World
Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for
students.[41] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highestenrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.[42]
CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses.[43] CK-12
FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state
textbook standards. CK-12 FlexBooks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. CK12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading
devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School
districts may select a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards.
The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without
paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example
print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages,
royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011).[44] (Any print on demand
service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower
prices for bulk purchases to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for
educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are
vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state
educational standards correlations.[45] Stanford University provided a number of titles in use.[46]
Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profit "empowering educators to deliver and share
curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards.[47]

Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular
lessons or special topics.
International market pricing[edit]
Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, the GAO report[13]
also highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have
expressed concern about the re-importation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations.
Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels
outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.
Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened
distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult
to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of College
Stores. Retailers and publishers have also been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged
in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from
international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza
protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under thefirst-sale doctrine, textbook publishers
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which
forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.[48] Concerned about the effects of
differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on
publishers to stop the practice of selling textbooks at lower prices outside the United States.[49] For
example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then reshipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book).
The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the charges for returned
books from bookstores.
Production[edit]
Cost distribution[edit]
According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by
expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a
committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% going to the store, and 64.6% going to the
publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada.[citation needed]
Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with
publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks.[citation needed]
Research[edit]
According to the GAO study published July 2005:
Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college
textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades.
Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall
average price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and
fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and
overall prices grew by 72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed
increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a
percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average
estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004

was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year
public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and
tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time
student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of
tuition and fees.[13]
According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
published in February 2005[citation needed]: "Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times
the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price
Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994,
while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period."
According to the 2007 edition of the College Boards Trend in College Pricing Report published
October 2007[citation needed]: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown
slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, as a percentage of total college costs,
have remained steady at about 5 percent."
K-12 textbooks[edit]
In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a
selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive
the books to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use
textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead.
Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state
purchasing controls over the books, most notably in Texas, where the Texas Education Agency sets
curricula for all courses taught by the state's 1,000+ school districts, and therefore also approves
which textbooks can be purchased.
High school[edit]
In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism.
Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks:
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything
Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain
mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to
what most students learn in universities. Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other
literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to theSoviet Union (USSR) and
the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political
forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.[citation needed]
Science textbooks have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from
several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been
debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to
declining grades in mathematics and science in the United States and organizations such as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount
of material given in textbooks.
Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education
debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a
debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P.
Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science
textbooks.[50] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical
phenomena; then a company sent for reasons of timing a textbook that contained blank pages,
which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery.
Mathematics[edit]
Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the
controversies of new math and reform mathematics which have sought to replace traditional
mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other
areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast
"progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with approaches that often
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or
omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common
denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own
method to multiply fractions which work on these examples", and the formula for the area of a circle
would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s,
while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as
unworkable.[citation needed]
Higher education[edit]
In the U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by
the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the
books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental
services and library reserve copies of texts, are available in some instances.
In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher
education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise.
With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every aspect of
college pricing, including textbooks, which in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The
2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s,
textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades[citation
needed]. A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices [13]
increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.[51] A June 2007 Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) report, Turn the Page, reported that the average U.S.
student spends $700$1000 per year on textbooks.[52]
While many groups have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found
that assigning blame to any one partyfaculty, colleges, bookstores or publishersfor current
textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry
to work together to find productive solutions, which included a movement toward open textbooks
and other lower-cost digital solutions.
Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case
books consisting of cases available free online.
Textbook bias on controversial topics[edit]

In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, the writer might be biased
towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific
theories are common potential biases.
See also[edit]

Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States.

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. - 2013 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding
textbook resale

Japanese textbook controversy

Pakistani textbooks controversy

Kanawha County textbook controversy

Sourcebook collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United
States

Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks.

Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly
in the book.

Problem book - A textbook, usually graduate level, organized as a series of problems and full
solutions.

Open textbook - More information about open textbook options.

References[edit]
1.
Jump up^ "schoolbook". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014. Retrieved14 June 2015.
2.

Jump up^ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/schoolbook

3.
Jump up^ http://wondermark.com/socrates-vs-writing/ True Stuff: Socrates vs. the Written
Word, January 27th, 2011. By David Malki
4.
Jump up^ Marcia Clemmitt, "Learning Online Literacy," in "Reading Crisis?" CQ Researcher,
Feb. 22, 2008, pp. 169-192.
5.
Jump up^ British Library, Treasures in Full: Gutenberg Bible,
www.bl.uk/treasures/gutenberg/background.html.
6.
Jump up^ Koch, James P. "An Economic Analysis of Textbook Prices and the Textbook
Market", 2006-09. Retrieved on 2012-06-12. (Alternative location (PDF))
7.
Jump up^ Rose, Marla Matzer. City at the head of the class: Consolidation, talent pool have
made Columbus a hotbed for educational publishers. August 5, 2007. Retrieved 2/14/09. Archived
from the original on 23 May 2011.
8.
Jump up^ But, in fact, no revenue from used book sales flows either to the publisher or to
the author of the work. New editions serve to keep revenues flowing to publishers and authors, but
do not affect prices paid for used older editions. D'Gama, Alissa and Benjamin Jaffe. "Professors Find

Differents Uses for Textbook Profits." The Harvard Crimson, 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 7 October
2011.
9.
^ Jump up to:a b Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drive Up
the Cost of College Textbooks The Student PIRGs (2004)
10.
Jump up^ Capriccioso, Rob. Throwing Down the Book. Inside Higher Ed, August 29, 2006.
Retrieved 2/14/09.
11.
Jump up^ Allen, Nicole. Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks Are Off Track and How to
Set Them Straight. The Student PIRGs (2008)
12.
Jump up^ Required Reading: A Look at the Words Publishing Tactics at Work, The Student
PIRGs (2006)
13.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e "College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price
Increases." U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2005. Abstract. Retrieved 7
October 2011.
14.
^ Jump up to:a b Analysis of Textbook Affordability Provisions in H.R. 4137, The Student
PIRGs
15.
Jump
up^http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2008A/commsumm.nsf/58e6d054c29cbe1287256e5f006
70a70/78f66284de2d10b28725740400734883?OpenDocument
16.
Jump up^ "Higher Education Opportunity Act." H.R.4137, U.S. House of Representatives,
110th Congress (2007-2008.) Public Law No. 110-315. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
17.
Jump up^ HB 2048. Missouri House of Representatives, 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October
2011.
18.
^ Jump up to:a b Summarized History for Bill Number SB08-073. Colorado General Assembly,
2008. Last updated 04 August 2008. Retrieved 07 October 2011.
19.

Jump up^ Textbook Battle's New Frontier | Inside Higher Ed

20.

Jump up^ Zomer, Saffron. Exposing the Textbook Industry, The Student PIRGs (2007)

21.

Jump up^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.04137

22.

Jump up^ http://stingyscholar.blogspot.com/2008/02/house-passes-legislation-to-make.html

23.

Jump up^ An Act Concerning Textbook Affordability

24.

^ Jump up to:a b http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0300.dir/sb0365.b.pdf

25.
Jump up^ Washington Governor Signs College Textbook Transparency Act, The Student PIRGs
(Press Release)
26.

Jump up^ HF 1063 Status in the House for the 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008)

27.

Jump up^ Documents For Bill

28.

Jump up^ http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08HB/HB2103_int.rtf

29.
Jump up^ House Bill Proposes Disclosure Rules to Control Textbook Prices - Students - The
Chronicle of Higher Education
30.

Jump up^ Observer - Association for Psychological Science

31.

Jump up^ See PIRG's Catalog of Open Textbooks for examples of open textbooks

32.

Jump up^ A Cover to Cover Solution by Nicole Allen of the Student PIRGs. 2010.

33.

Jump up^ AB 2261 Assembly Bill - INTRODUCED

34.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge President Eric Frank Addresses Oregon Legislators on
Solving Textbook Affordability. Pressitt. February 21, 2011.
35.
Jump up^ Open-source textbook co. Flat World goes back to school with 40,000 new
customers - Venture Beat 8/20/09
36.
Jump up^ 150,000 College Students Save $12 Million Using Flat World Knowledge Open
Textbooks. Marketwire. August 23, 2010.
37.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge: Open College Textbooks by Sanford Forte.
Opensource.com. February 23, 2010.
38.
Jump up^ Organizational Behavior v1.1 by Talya Bauer & Berrin Erdogan. Irvington, NY: Flat
World Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - PDF view)
39.
Jump up^ Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor. Irvington, NY: Flat World
Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - web view)
40.

Jump up^ See Flat World Knowledge's website

41.

Jump up^ [1] Flat World Knowledge Website.

42.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge gets $15 million in Funding. Publishers Weekly.January 20,
2011.
43.

Jump up^ CK-12 FlexBooks. Homepage.

44.

Jump up^ Carl Stitz/Jeff Zeager on Ohio Textbook HQ 2010.

45.

Jump up^ CK-12 - Standards Correlations United States.

46.
Jump up^ Human Biology - Genetics CK-12 FlexBook by The Program in Human Biology,
Stanford University. (sample of free web access format)
47.

Jump up^ Curriki.org Homepage.

48.
Jump up^ Lewin, Tamar (21 October 2003). "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50,
Purchased Overseas". The New York Times. Retrieved24 September 2009.
49.
Jump up^ "Testimony of Marc L. Fleischaker, Counsel, National Association of College
Stores". Hearing on "Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?". U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. 20
July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
50.

Jump up^ Book Review: Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman!

51.

Jump up^ Rip-off 101: Second Edition, The Student PIRGs (2005)

52.

Jump up^ http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/edlite-txtbkstudy.html

Further reading[edit]

Baier, Kylie, et al. "College students textbook reading, or not." American Reading Forum
Annual Yearbook Vol. 31. 2011. online

Berkeley, Sheri, et al. "Are History Textbooks More Considerate After 20 Years?." Journal of
Special Education (2014) 47#4 PP: 217-230.

Buczynski, James A. "Faculty begin to replace textbooks with freely accessible online
resources." Internet Reference Services Quarterly (2007) 11#4 pp: 169-179.

Campbell, Alex, and Mr Flint. "New Digital Tools Let Professors Tailor Their Own Textbooks
for Under $20 And that's just one option, along with mix-and-match Web sites from big publishers
and libraries of open-source content." Chronicle of Higher Education (October 9, 2011). online

Carbaugh, Robert, and Koushik Ghosh. "Are college textbooks priced fairly?." Challenge
(2005) 48#5 pp: 95-112.

Casper, Scott E. et al. "Textbooks Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation about History,
Pedagogy, and Economics." Journal of American History (2014) 100#4 pp 11391169.

Chiappetta, Eugene L., and David A. Fillman. "Analysis of five high school biology textbooks
used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science." International Journal of Science
Education (2007) 29#15 pp: 1847-1868.

Doering, Torsten, Luiz Pereira, and L. Kuechler. "The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A
case study." Berlin (Germany): E-Leader (2012). online

Elliott, David L., and Arthur Woodward, eds. Textbooks and schooling in the United States
Vol. 89. NSSE, 1990.

Kahveci, Ajda. "Quantitative analysis of science and chemistry textbooks for indicators of
reform: A complementary perspective." International Journal of Science Education (2010) 32#11 pp:
1495-1519.

Koulaidis, Vasilis, and Anna Tsatsaroni. "A pedagogical analysis of science textbooks: How can
we proceed?." Research in Science Education (1996) 26#1 pp: 55-71.

Liang, Ye, and William W. Cobern. "Analysis of a Typical Chinese High School Biology
Textbook Using the AAAS Textbook Standards." (2013). online

Myers, Gregory A. "Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge." English for Specific
purposes (1992) 11#1: 3-17.

Richardson, Paul W. "Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study
from Economics." Studies in Higher Education (2004) 29#4: 505-521. online; on Australia

Roediger III, Henry L. "Writing Textbooks: Why Doesnt It Count?." Observer (2004) 17#5
online

Silver, Lawrence S., Robert E. Stevens, and Kenneth E. Clow. "Marketing professors
perspectives on the cost of college textbooks: a pilot study." Journal of Education for Business (2012)
87#1 pp: 1-6.


Stone, Robert W., and Lori J. Baker-Eveleth. "Students intentions to purchase electronic
textbooks." Journal of Computing in Higher Education (2013) 25#1 pp: 27-47.

Weiten, Wayne. "Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to

professors' impressions." Teaching of Psychology (1988) 15#1 pp: 10-16.

The textbook market does not operate in exactly the same manner as most consumer markets. First,
the end consumers (students) do not select the product, and the product is not purchased by faculty
or professors. Therefore, price is removed from the purchasing decision, giving the producer
(publishers) disproportionate market power to set prices high.
This fundamental difference in the market is often cited as the primary reason that prices are out of
control. The term "broken market" first appeared in the economist James Koch's analysis of the
market commissioned by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[6]
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of competition in the textbook market. Consolidation in the
past few decades[when?] has reduced the number of major textbook companies from around 30 to
just a handful.[7]Consequently, there is less competition than there used to be, and the high cost of
starting up keeps new companies from entering.
New editions and the used book market[edit]
Students seek relief from rising prices through the purchase of used copies of textbooks, which tend
to be less expensive. Most college bookstores offer used copies of textbooks at lower prices. Most
bookstores will also buy used copies back from students at the end of a term if the book is going to
be re-used at the school. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an
off-campus wholesaler for 0-30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores where the
books will be sold. Textbook companies have countered this by encouraging faculty to assign
homework that must be done on the publisher's website. If a student has a new textbook then he or
she can use the pass code in the book to register on the site. If the student has purchased a used
textbook then he or she must pay money directly to the publisher in order to access the website and
complete assigned homework.
Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or
title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used book sellers or retailers.
Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math
& science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about
significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another
tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up
prices," [8] A study conducted by The Student PIRGsfound that a new edition costs 12% more than a
new copy of previous edition, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook
publishers maintain these new editions are driven by faculty demand. The Student PIRGs' study
found that 76% of faculty said new editions were justified half of the time or less and 40% said they
were justified rarely or never.[9] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue
that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per
student.[10]

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on electronic textbooks, or "eTextbooks,"
does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not
recover any of the cost through resale.[11]
Bundling[edit]
Another publishing industry practice that has been highly criticized is "bundling," or shrink-wrapping
supplemental items into a textbook.[citation needed] Supplemental items range from CD-ROMs and
workbooks to online passcodes and bonus material. Students do not always have the option to
purchase these items separately, and often the one-time-use supplements destroy the resale value
of the textbook.[12]
According to the Student PIRGs, the typical bundled textbook is 10%-50% more than an unbundled
textbook, and 65% of professors said they rarely or never use the bundled items in their
courses.[9]
A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report found that the production of these
supplemental items was the primary cause of rapidly increasing prices:
While publishers, retailers, and wholesalers all play a role in textbook pricing, the primary factor
contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers
have made in new products to enhance instruction and learning...While wholesalers, retailers, and
others do not question the quality of these materials, they have expressed concern that the
publishers practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the
opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books....If publishers continue to increase
these investments, particularly in technology, the cost to produce a textbook is likely to continue to
increase in the future.[13]
Bundling has also been used as a means of segmenting the used book market. Each combination of a
textbook and supplemental items receives a separate ISBN. A single textbook could therefore have
dozens of ISBNs that denote different combinations of supplements packaged with that particular
book. When a bookstore attempts to track down used copies of textbooks, they will search for the
ISBN the course instructor orders, which will locate only a subset of the copies of the textbook.
Legislation on the state and federal level seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring
publishers to offer all components separately.[14] Publishers have testified in favor of bills including
this provision,[15] but only in the case that the provision exempts the loosely defined category of
"integrated textbooks." The Federal bill[16] only exempts 3rd party materials in integrated textbooks,
however publisher lobbyists have attempted to create a loophole through this definition in state
bills.[17][18]
Price disclosure[edit]
Given that the problem of high textbook prices is linked to the "broken" economics of the market,
requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices to faculty is a solution pursued by a number of
legislatures.[19] By inserting price into sales interactions, this regulation will supposedly make the
economic forces operate more normally.
No data suggests that this is in fact true. However, The Student PIRGs have found that publishers
actively withhold pricing information from faculty, making it difficult to obtain. Their most recent
study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only
40% got an answer when they directly asked. Furthermore, the study found that 23% of faculty rated

publisher websites as informative and easy to use and less than half said they typically listed the
price.[20]
The US Congress passed a law in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act that would require price
disclosure.[14][21][22] Legislation requiring price disclosure has passed in Connecticut,[23]
Washington,[24][25] Minnesota,[26]Oregon,[24] Arizona,[27] Oklahoma,[28] and Colorado.[18]
Publishers are currently supporting price disclosure mandates, though they insist that the "suggested
retail price"[29] should be disclosed, rather than the actual price the publisher would get for the
book.
Used textbook market[edit]
Once a textbook is purchased from a retailer for the first time, there are several ways a student can
sell his/her textbooks back at the end of the semester. Students can sell to 1) the college/university
bookstore; 2) fellow students; or 3) a number of online Web sites or student swap service.
Campus buyback[edit]
As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student
receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom
text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the
next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not
received a faculty order for the book at the end of the term and the edition is still current, they may
offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new
retail price, according to the GAO report.[13]
When students resell their textbooks during campus buyback periods, these textbooks are often
sold into the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on
campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to
a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically
75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective
companies to continue to operate.
Student to student sales[edit]
Students can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will
often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in
purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books
or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many
larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These
often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse
for those they wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire
specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.
Student online marketplaces[edit]
Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used
textbooks. Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list
their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book
themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of

selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their
books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books
individually.
Online book buyers[edit]
Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the aim of reselling
them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students
the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students
enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or offer. These
online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book),
and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying
books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can get on online marketplaces.
However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service.
Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a
lower total cost than even textbook rental services.
Textbook exchanges[edit]
In response to escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient
system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of
today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the
sale is completed.
According to textbook author Henry L. Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor
Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of
textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of
textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, and passing laws to prevent the sale
of used books.[30] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software,
which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand
that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old
tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal.
Rental programs[edit]
In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party
facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods,
opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles
or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system.
Textbook Sharing[edit]
Another method to help students save money that is coming up is called Textbooks Sharing. Using
textbook sharing the students share the physical textbook with other students, and also the cost of
the book is divided among the users of the textbook. So over the life of the textbook, if 4 students
use the textbook, the cost of the textbook for each student will be 25% of the total cost of the book.
Open textbooks[edit]
Main article: Open textbooks

The latest trend in textbooks is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed
textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and
are being used at schools such as MIT and Harvard.[31] A 2010 study published found that open
textbooks offer a viable and attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering
savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options.[32]
Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies
suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.[33][citation needed] To offer
another perspective[citation needed], any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient
numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open
textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work.
The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is that textbooks with good sales and
profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary
textbooks.[citation needed] Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in
the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the
following: higher retail prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles
published.
On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing.
Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open
textbooks that are used by more than 900 institutions in 44 countries.[34][35][36] Their business
model[37] was to offer the open textbook free online,[38][39] and then sell ancillary products that
students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle),
PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on these sales.[40]
With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a
goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World
Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for
students.[41] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highestenrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.[42]
CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses.[43] CK-12
FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state
textbook standards. CK-12 FlexBooks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. CK12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading
devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School
districts may select a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards.
The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without
paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example
print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages,
royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011).[44] (Any print on demand
service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower
prices for bulk purchases to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for
educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are
vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state
educational standards correlations.[45] Stanford University provided a number of titles in use.[46]
Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profit "empowering educators to deliver and share
curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards.[47]

Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular
lessons or special topics.
International market pricing[edit]
Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, the GAO report[13]
also highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have
expressed concern about the re-importation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations.
Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels
outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.
Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened
distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult
to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of College
Stores. Retailers and publishers have also been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged
in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from
international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza
protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under thefirst-sale doctrine, textbook publishers
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which
forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.[48] Concerned about the effects of
differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on
publishers to stop the practice of selling textbooks at lower prices outside the United States.[49] For
example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then reshipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book).
The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the charges for returned
books from bookstores.
Production[edit]
Cost distribution[edit]
According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by
expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a
committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% going to the store, and 64.6% going to the
publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada.[citation needed]
Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with
publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks.[citation needed]
Research[edit]
According to the GAO study published July 2005:
Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college
textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades.
Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall
average price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and
fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and
overall prices grew by 72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed
increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a
percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average
estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004

was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year
public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and
tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time
student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of
tuition and fees.[13]
According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
published in February 2005[citation needed]: "Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times
the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price
Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994,
while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period."
According to the 2007 edition of the College Boards Trend in College Pricing Report published
October 2007[citation needed]: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown
slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, as a percentage of total college costs,
have remained steady at about 5 percent."
K-12 textbooks[edit]
In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a
selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive
the books to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use
textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead.
Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state
purchasing controls over the books, most notably in Texas, where the Texas Education Agency sets
curricula for all courses taught by the state's 1,000+ school districts, and therefore also approves
which textbooks can be purchased.
High school[edit]
In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism.
Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks:
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything
Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain
mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to
what most students learn in universities. Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other
literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to theSoviet Union (USSR) and
the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political
forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.[citation needed]
Science textbooks have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from
several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been
debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to
declining grades in mathematics and science in the United States and organizations such as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount
of material given in textbooks.
Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education
debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a
debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P.
Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science
textbooks.[50] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical
phenomena; then a company sent for reasons of timing a textbook that contained blank pages,
which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery.
Mathematics[edit]
Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the
controversies of new math and reform mathematics which have sought to replace traditional
mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other
areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast
"progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with approaches that often
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or
omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common
denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own
method to multiply fractions which work on these examples", and the formula for the area of a circle
would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s,
while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as
unworkable.[citation needed]
Higher education[edit]
In the U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by
the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the
books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental
services and library reserve copies of texts, are available in some instances.
In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher
education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise.
With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every aspect of
college pricing, including textbooks, which in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The
2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s,
textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades[citation
needed]. A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices [13]
increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.[51] A June 2007 Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) report, Turn the Page, reported that the average U.S.
student spends $700$1000 per year on textbooks.[52]
While many groups have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found
that assigning blame to any one partyfaculty, colleges, bookstores or publishersfor current
textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry
to work together to find productive solutions, which included a movement toward open textbooks
and other lower-cost digital solutions.
Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case
books consisting of cases available free online.
Textbook bias on controversial topics[edit]

In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, the writer might be biased
towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific
theories are common potential biases.
See also[edit]

Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States.

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. - 2013 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding
textbook resale

Japanese textbook controversy

Pakistani textbooks controversy

Kanawha County textbook controversy

Sourcebook collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United
States

Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks.

Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly
in the book.

Problem book - A textbook, usually graduate level, organized as a series of problems and full
solutions.

Open textbook - More information about open textbook options.

References[edit]
1.
Jump up^ "schoolbook". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014. Retrieved14 June 2015.
2.

Jump up^ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/schoolbook

3.
Jump up^ http://wondermark.com/socrates-vs-writing/ True Stuff: Socrates vs. the Written
Word, January 27th, 2011. By David Malki
4.
Jump up^ Marcia Clemmitt, "Learning Online Literacy," in "Reading Crisis?" CQ Researcher,
Feb. 22, 2008, pp. 169-192.
5.
Jump up^ British Library, Treasures in Full: Gutenberg Bible,
www.bl.uk/treasures/gutenberg/background.html.
6.
Jump up^ Koch, James P. "An Economic Analysis of Textbook Prices and the Textbook
Market", 2006-09. Retrieved on 2012-06-12. (Alternative location (PDF))
7.
Jump up^ Rose, Marla Matzer. City at the head of the class: Consolidation, talent pool have
made Columbus a hotbed for educational publishers. August 5, 2007. Retrieved 2/14/09. Archived
from the original on 23 May 2011.
8.
Jump up^ But, in fact, no revenue from used book sales flows either to the publisher or to
the author of the work. New editions serve to keep revenues flowing to publishers and authors, but
do not affect prices paid for used older editions. D'Gama, Alissa and Benjamin Jaffe. "Professors Find

Differents Uses for Textbook Profits." The Harvard Crimson, 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 7 October
2011.
9.
^ Jump up to:a b Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drive Up
the Cost of College Textbooks The Student PIRGs (2004)
10.
Jump up^ Capriccioso, Rob. Throwing Down the Book. Inside Higher Ed, August 29, 2006.
Retrieved 2/14/09.
11.
Jump up^ Allen, Nicole. Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks Are Off Track and How to
Set Them Straight. The Student PIRGs (2008)
12.
Jump up^ Required Reading: A Look at the Words Publishing Tactics at Work, The Student
PIRGs (2006)
13.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e "College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price
Increases." U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2005. Abstract. Retrieved 7
October 2011.
14.
^ Jump up to:a b Analysis of Textbook Affordability Provisions in H.R. 4137, The Student
PIRGs
15.
Jump
up^http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2008A/commsumm.nsf/58e6d054c29cbe1287256e5f006
70a70/78f66284de2d10b28725740400734883?OpenDocument
16.
Jump up^ "Higher Education Opportunity Act." H.R.4137, U.S. House of Representatives,
110th Congress (2007-2008.) Public Law No. 110-315. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
17.
Jump up^ HB 2048. Missouri House of Representatives, 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October
2011.
18.
^ Jump up to:a b Summarized History for Bill Number SB08-073. Colorado General Assembly,
2008. Last updated 04 August 2008. Retrieved 07 October 2011.
19.

Jump up^ Textbook Battle's New Frontier | Inside Higher Ed

20.

Jump up^ Zomer, Saffron. Exposing the Textbook Industry, The Student PIRGs (2007)

21.

Jump up^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.04137

22.

Jump up^ http://stingyscholar.blogspot.com/2008/02/house-passes-legislation-to-make.html

23.

Jump up^ An Act Concerning Textbook Affordability

24.

^ Jump up to:a b http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0300.dir/sb0365.b.pdf

25.
Jump up^ Washington Governor Signs College Textbook Transparency Act, The Student PIRGs
(Press Release)
26.

Jump up^ HF 1063 Status in the House for the 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008)

27.

Jump up^ Documents For Bill

28.

Jump up^ http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08HB/HB2103_int.rtf

29.
Jump up^ House Bill Proposes Disclosure Rules to Control Textbook Prices - Students - The
Chronicle of Higher Education
30.

Jump up^ Observer - Association for Psychological Science

31.

Jump up^ See PIRG's Catalog of Open Textbooks for examples of open textbooks

32.

Jump up^ A Cover to Cover Solution by Nicole Allen of the Student PIRGs. 2010.

33.

Jump up^ AB 2261 Assembly Bill - INTRODUCED

34.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge President Eric Frank Addresses Oregon Legislators on
Solving Textbook Affordability. Pressitt. February 21, 2011.
35.
Jump up^ Open-source textbook co. Flat World goes back to school with 40,000 new
customers - Venture Beat 8/20/09
36.
Jump up^ 150,000 College Students Save $12 Million Using Flat World Knowledge Open
Textbooks. Marketwire. August 23, 2010.
37.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge: Open College Textbooks by Sanford Forte.
Opensource.com. February 23, 2010.
38.
Jump up^ Organizational Behavior v1.1 by Talya Bauer & Berrin Erdogan. Irvington, NY: Flat
World Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - PDF view)
39.
Jump up^ Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor. Irvington, NY: Flat World
Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - web view)
40.

Jump up^ See Flat World Knowledge's website

41.

Jump up^ [1] Flat World Knowledge Website.

42.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge gets $15 million in Funding. Publishers Weekly.January 20,
2011.
43.

Jump up^ CK-12 FlexBooks. Homepage.

44.

Jump up^ Carl Stitz/Jeff Zeager on Ohio Textbook HQ 2010.

45.

Jump up^ CK-12 - Standards Correlations United States.

46.
Jump up^ Human Biology - Genetics CK-12 FlexBook by The Program in Human Biology,
Stanford University. (sample of free web access format)
47.

Jump up^ Curriki.org Homepage.

48.
Jump up^ Lewin, Tamar (21 October 2003). "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50,
Purchased Overseas". The New York Times. Retrieved24 September 2009.
49.
Jump up^ "Testimony of Marc L. Fleischaker, Counsel, National Association of College
Stores". Hearing on "Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?". U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. 20
July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
50.

Jump up^ Book Review: Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman!

51.

Jump up^ Rip-off 101: Second Edition, The Student PIRGs (2005)

52.

Jump up^ http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/edlite-txtbkstudy.html

Further reading[edit]

Baier, Kylie, et al. "College students textbook reading, or not." American Reading Forum
Annual Yearbook Vol. 31. 2011. online

Berkeley, Sheri, et al. "Are History Textbooks More Considerate After 20 Years?." Journal of
Special Education (2014) 47#4 PP: 217-230.

Buczynski, James A. "Faculty begin to replace textbooks with freely accessible online
resources." Internet Reference Services Quarterly (2007) 11#4 pp: 169-179.

Campbell, Alex, and Mr Flint. "New Digital Tools Let Professors Tailor Their Own Textbooks
for Under $20 And that's just one option, along with mix-and-match Web sites from big publishers
and libraries of open-source content." Chronicle of Higher Education (October 9, 2011). online

Carbaugh, Robert, and Koushik Ghosh. "Are college textbooks priced fairly?." Challenge
(2005) 48#5 pp: 95-112.

Casper, Scott E. et al. "Textbooks Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation about History,
Pedagogy, and Economics." Journal of American History (2014) 100#4 pp 11391169.

Chiappetta, Eugene L., and David A. Fillman. "Analysis of five high school biology textbooks
used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science." International Journal of Science
Education (2007) 29#15 pp: 1847-1868.

Doering, Torsten, Luiz Pereira, and L. Kuechler. "The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A
case study." Berlin (Germany): E-Leader (2012). online

Elliott, David L., and Arthur Woodward, eds. Textbooks and schooling in the United States
Vol. 89. NSSE, 1990.

Kahveci, Ajda. "Quantitative analysis of science and chemistry textbooks for indicators of
reform: A complementary perspective." International Journal of Science Education (2010) 32#11 pp:
1495-1519.

Koulaidis, Vasilis, and Anna Tsatsaroni. "A pedagogical analysis of science textbooks: How can
we proceed?." Research in Science Education (1996) 26#1 pp: 55-71.

Liang, Ye, and William W. Cobern. "Analysis of a Typical Chinese High School Biology
Textbook Using the AAAS Textbook Standards." (2013). online

Myers, Gregory A. "Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge." English for Specific
purposes (1992) 11#1: 3-17.

Richardson, Paul W. "Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study
from Economics." Studies in Higher Education (2004) 29#4: 505-521. online; on Australia

Roediger III, Henry L. "Writing Textbooks: Why Doesnt It Count?." Observer (2004) 17#5
online

Silver, Lawrence S., Robert E. Stevens, and Kenneth E. Clow. "Marketing professors
perspectives on the cost of college textbooks: a pilot study." Journal of Education for Business (2012)
87#1 pp: 1-6.


Stone, Robert W., and Lori J. Baker-Eveleth. "Students intentions to purchase electronic
textbooks." Journal of Computing in Higher Education (2013) 25#1 pp: 27-47.

Weiten, Wayne. "Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to

professors' impressions." Teaching of Psychology (1988) 15#1 pp: 10-16.

The textbook market does not operate in exactly the same manner as most consumer markets. First,
the end consumers (students) do not select the product, and the product is not purchased by faculty
or professors. Therefore, price is removed from the purchasing decision, giving the producer
(publishers) disproportionate market power to set prices high.
This fundamental difference in the market is often cited as the primary reason that prices are out of
control. The term "broken market" first appeared in the economist James Koch's analysis of the
market commissioned by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[6]
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of competition in the textbook market. Consolidation in the
past few decades[when?] has reduced the number of major textbook companies from around 30 to
just a handful.[7]Consequently, there is less competition than there used to be, and the high cost of
starting up keeps new companies from entering.
New editions and the used book market[edit]
Students seek relief from rising prices through the purchase of used copies of textbooks, which tend
to be less expensive. Most college bookstores offer used copies of textbooks at lower prices. Most
bookstores will also buy used copies back from students at the end of a term if the book is going to
be re-used at the school. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an
off-campus wholesaler for 0-30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores where the
books will be sold. Textbook companies have countered this by encouraging faculty to assign
homework that must be done on the publisher's website. If a student has a new textbook then he or
she can use the pass code in the book to register on the site. If the student has purchased a used
textbook then he or she must pay money directly to the publisher in order to access the website and
complete assigned homework.
Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or
title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used book sellers or retailers.
Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math
& science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about
significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another
tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up
prices," [8] A study conducted by The Student PIRGsfound that a new edition costs 12% more than a
new copy of previous edition, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook
publishers maintain these new editions are driven by faculty demand. The Student PIRGs' study
found that 76% of faculty said new editions were justified half of the time or less and 40% said they
were justified rarely or never.[9] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue
that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per
student.[10]

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on electronic textbooks, or "eTextbooks,"
does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not
recover any of the cost through resale.[11]
Bundling[edit]
Another publishing industry practice that has been highly criticized is "bundling," or shrink-wrapping
supplemental items into a textbook.[citation needed] Supplemental items range from CD-ROMs and
workbooks to online passcodes and bonus material. Students do not always have the option to
purchase these items separately, and often the one-time-use supplements destroy the resale value
of the textbook.[12]
According to the Student PIRGs, the typical bundled textbook is 10%-50% more than an unbundled
textbook, and 65% of professors said they rarely or never use the bundled items in their
courses.[9]
A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report found that the production of these
supplemental items was the primary cause of rapidly increasing prices:
While publishers, retailers, and wholesalers all play a role in textbook pricing, the primary factor
contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers
have made in new products to enhance instruction and learning...While wholesalers, retailers, and
others do not question the quality of these materials, they have expressed concern that the
publishers practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the
opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books....If publishers continue to increase
these investments, particularly in technology, the cost to produce a textbook is likely to continue to
increase in the future.[13]
Bundling has also been used as a means of segmenting the used book market. Each combination of a
textbook and supplemental items receives a separate ISBN. A single textbook could therefore have
dozens of ISBNs that denote different combinations of supplements packaged with that particular
book. When a bookstore attempts to track down used copies of textbooks, they will search for the
ISBN the course instructor orders, which will locate only a subset of the copies of the textbook.
Legislation on the state and federal level seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring
publishers to offer all components separately.[14] Publishers have testified in favor of bills including
this provision,[15] but only in the case that the provision exempts the loosely defined category of
"integrated textbooks." The Federal bill[16] only exempts 3rd party materials in integrated textbooks,
however publisher lobbyists have attempted to create a loophole through this definition in state
bills.[17][18]
Price disclosure[edit]
Given that the problem of high textbook prices is linked to the "broken" economics of the market,
requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices to faculty is a solution pursued by a number of
legislatures.[19] By inserting price into sales interactions, this regulation will supposedly make the
economic forces operate more normally.
No data suggests that this is in fact true. However, The Student PIRGs have found that publishers
actively withhold pricing information from faculty, making it difficult to obtain. Their most recent
study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only
40% got an answer when they directly asked. Furthermore, the study found that 23% of faculty rated

publisher websites as informative and easy to use and less than half said they typically listed the
price.[20]
The US Congress passed a law in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act that would require price
disclosure.[14][21][22] Legislation requiring price disclosure has passed in Connecticut,[23]
Washington,[24][25] Minnesota,[26]Oregon,[24] Arizona,[27] Oklahoma,[28] and Colorado.[18]
Publishers are currently supporting price disclosure mandates, though they insist that the "suggested
retail price"[29] should be disclosed, rather than the actual price the publisher would get for the
book.
Used textbook market[edit]
Once a textbook is purchased from a retailer for the first time, there are several ways a student can
sell his/her textbooks back at the end of the semester. Students can sell to 1) the college/university
bookstore; 2) fellow students; or 3) a number of online Web sites or student swap service.
Campus buyback[edit]
As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student
receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom
text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the
next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not
received a faculty order for the book at the end of the term and the edition is still current, they may
offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new
retail price, according to the GAO report.[13]
When students resell their textbooks during campus buyback periods, these textbooks are often
sold into the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on
campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to
a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically
75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective
companies to continue to operate.
Student to student sales[edit]
Students can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will
often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in
purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books
or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many
larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These
often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse
for those they wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire
specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.
Student online marketplaces[edit]
Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used
textbooks. Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list
their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book
themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of

selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their
books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books
individually.
Online book buyers[edit]
Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the aim of reselling
them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students
the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students
enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or offer. These
online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book),
and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying
books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can get on online marketplaces.
However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service.
Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a
lower total cost than even textbook rental services.
Textbook exchanges[edit]
In response to escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient
system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of
today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the
sale is completed.
According to textbook author Henry L. Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor
Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of
textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of
textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, and passing laws to prevent the sale
of used books.[30] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software,
which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand
that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old
tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal.
Rental programs[edit]
In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party
facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods,
opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles
or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system.
Textbook Sharing[edit]
Another method to help students save money that is coming up is called Textbooks Sharing. Using
textbook sharing the students share the physical textbook with other students, and also the cost of
the book is divided among the users of the textbook. So over the life of the textbook, if 4 students
use the textbook, the cost of the textbook for each student will be 25% of the total cost of the book.
Open textbooks[edit]
Main article: Open textbooks

The latest trend in textbooks is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed
textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and
are being used at schools such as MIT and Harvard.[31] A 2010 study published found that open
textbooks offer a viable and attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering
savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options.[32]
Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies
suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.[33][citation needed] To offer
another perspective[citation needed], any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient
numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open
textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work.
The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is that textbooks with good sales and
profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary
textbooks.[citation needed] Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in
the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the
following: higher retail prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles
published.
On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing.
Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open
textbooks that are used by more than 900 institutions in 44 countries.[34][35][36] Their business
model[37] was to offer the open textbook free online,[38][39] and then sell ancillary products that
students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle),
PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on these sales.[40]
With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a
goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World
Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for
students.[41] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highestenrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.[42]
CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses.[43] CK-12
FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state
textbook standards. CK-12 FlexBooks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. CK12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading
devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School
districts may select a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards.
The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without
paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example
print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages,
royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011).[44] (Any print on demand
service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower
prices for bulk purchases to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for
educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are
vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state
educational standards correlations.[45] Stanford University provided a number of titles in use.[46]
Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profit "empowering educators to deliver and share
curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards.[47]

Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular
lessons or special topics.
International market pricing[edit]
Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, the GAO report[13]
also highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have
expressed concern about the re-importation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations.
Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels
outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.
Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened
distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult
to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of College
Stores. Retailers and publishers have also been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged
in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from
international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza
protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under thefirst-sale doctrine, textbook publishers
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which
forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.[48] Concerned about the effects of
differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on
publishers to stop the practice of selling textbooks at lower prices outside the United States.[49] For
example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then reshipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book).
The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the charges for returned
books from bookstores.
Production[edit]
Cost distribution[edit]
According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by
expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a
committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% going to the store, and 64.6% going to the
publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada.[citation needed]
Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with
publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks.[citation needed]
Research[edit]
According to the GAO study published July 2005:
Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college
textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades.
Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall
average price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and
fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and
overall prices grew by 72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed
increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a
percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average
estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004

was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year
public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and
tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time
student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of
tuition and fees.[13]
According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
published in February 2005[citation needed]: "Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times
the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price
Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994,
while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period."
According to the 2007 edition of the College Boards Trend in College Pricing Report published
October 2007[citation needed]: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown
slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, as a percentage of total college costs,
have remained steady at about 5 percent."
K-12 textbooks[edit]
In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a
selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive
the books to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use
textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead.
Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state
purchasing controls over the books, most notably in Texas, where the Texas Education Agency sets
curricula for all courses taught by the state's 1,000+ school districts, and therefore also approves
which textbooks can be purchased.
High school[edit]
In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism.
Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks:
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything
Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain
mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to
what most students learn in universities. Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other
literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to theSoviet Union (USSR) and
the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political
forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.[citation needed]
Science textbooks have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from
several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been
debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to
declining grades in mathematics and science in the United States and organizations such as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount
of material given in textbooks.
Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education
debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a
debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P.
Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science
textbooks.[50] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical
phenomena; then a company sent for reasons of timing a textbook that contained blank pages,
which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery.
Mathematics[edit]
Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the
controversies of new math and reform mathematics which have sought to replace traditional
mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other
areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast
"progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with approaches that often
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or
omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common
denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own
method to multiply fractions which work on these examples", and the formula for the area of a circle
would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s,
while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as
unworkable.[citation needed]
Higher education[edit]
In the U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by
the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the
books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental
services and library reserve copies of texts, are available in some instances.
In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher
education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise.
With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every aspect of
college pricing, including textbooks, which in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The
2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s,
textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades[citation
needed]. A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices [13]
increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.[51] A June 2007 Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) report, Turn the Page, reported that the average U.S.
student spends $700$1000 per year on textbooks.[52]
While many groups have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found
that assigning blame to any one partyfaculty, colleges, bookstores or publishersfor current
textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry
to work together to find productive solutions, which included a movement toward open textbooks
and other lower-cost digital solutions.
Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case
books consisting of cases available free online.
Textbook bias on controversial topics[edit]

In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, the writer might be biased
towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific
theories are common potential biases.
See also[edit]

Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States.

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. - 2013 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding
textbook resale

Japanese textbook controversy

Pakistani textbooks controversy

Kanawha County textbook controversy

Sourcebook collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United
States

Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks.

Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly
in the book.

Problem book - A textbook, usually graduate level, organized as a series of problems and full
solutions.

Open textbook - More information about open textbook options.

References[edit]
1.
Jump up^ "schoolbook". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014. Retrieved14 June 2015.
2.

Jump up^ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/schoolbook

3.
Jump up^ http://wondermark.com/socrates-vs-writing/ True Stuff: Socrates vs. the Written
Word, January 27th, 2011. By David Malki
4.
Jump up^ Marcia Clemmitt, "Learning Online Literacy," in "Reading Crisis?" CQ Researcher,
Feb. 22, 2008, pp. 169-192.
5.
Jump up^ British Library, Treasures in Full: Gutenberg Bible,
www.bl.uk/treasures/gutenberg/background.html.
6.
Jump up^ Koch, James P. "An Economic Analysis of Textbook Prices and the Textbook
Market", 2006-09. Retrieved on 2012-06-12. (Alternative location (PDF))
7.
Jump up^ Rose, Marla Matzer. City at the head of the class: Consolidation, talent pool have
made Columbus a hotbed for educational publishers. August 5, 2007. Retrieved 2/14/09. Archived
from the original on 23 May 2011.
8.
Jump up^ But, in fact, no revenue from used book sales flows either to the publisher or to
the author of the work. New editions serve to keep revenues flowing to publishers and authors, but
do not affect prices paid for used older editions. D'Gama, Alissa and Benjamin Jaffe. "Professors Find

Differents Uses for Textbook Profits." The Harvard Crimson, 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 7 October
2011.
9.
^ Jump up to:a b Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drive Up
the Cost of College Textbooks The Student PIRGs (2004)
10.
Jump up^ Capriccioso, Rob. Throwing Down the Book. Inside Higher Ed, August 29, 2006.
Retrieved 2/14/09.
11.
Jump up^ Allen, Nicole. Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks Are Off Track and How to
Set Them Straight. The Student PIRGs (2008)
12.
Jump up^ Required Reading: A Look at the Words Publishing Tactics at Work, The Student
PIRGs (2006)
13.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e "College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price
Increases." U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2005. Abstract. Retrieved 7
October 2011.
14.
^ Jump up to:a b Analysis of Textbook Affordability Provisions in H.R. 4137, The Student
PIRGs
15.
Jump
up^http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2008A/commsumm.nsf/58e6d054c29cbe1287256e5f006
70a70/78f66284de2d10b28725740400734883?OpenDocument
16.
Jump up^ "Higher Education Opportunity Act." H.R.4137, U.S. House of Representatives,
110th Congress (2007-2008.) Public Law No. 110-315. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
17.
Jump up^ HB 2048. Missouri House of Representatives, 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October
2011.
18.
^ Jump up to:a b Summarized History for Bill Number SB08-073. Colorado General Assembly,
2008. Last updated 04 August 2008. Retrieved 07 October 2011.
19.

Jump up^ Textbook Battle's New Frontier | Inside Higher Ed

20.

Jump up^ Zomer, Saffron. Exposing the Textbook Industry, The Student PIRGs (2007)

21.

Jump up^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.04137

22.

Jump up^ http://stingyscholar.blogspot.com/2008/02/house-passes-legislation-to-make.html

23.

Jump up^ An Act Concerning Textbook Affordability

24.

^ Jump up to:a b http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0300.dir/sb0365.b.pdf

25.
Jump up^ Washington Governor Signs College Textbook Transparency Act, The Student PIRGs
(Press Release)
26.

Jump up^ HF 1063 Status in the House for the 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008)

27.

Jump up^ Documents For Bill

28.

Jump up^ http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08HB/HB2103_int.rtf

29.
Jump up^ House Bill Proposes Disclosure Rules to Control Textbook Prices - Students - The
Chronicle of Higher Education
30.

Jump up^ Observer - Association for Psychological Science

31.

Jump up^ See PIRG's Catalog of Open Textbooks for examples of open textbooks

32.

Jump up^ A Cover to Cover Solution by Nicole Allen of the Student PIRGs. 2010.

33.

Jump up^ AB 2261 Assembly Bill - INTRODUCED

34.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge President Eric Frank Addresses Oregon Legislators on
Solving Textbook Affordability. Pressitt. February 21, 2011.
35.
Jump up^ Open-source textbook co. Flat World goes back to school with 40,000 new
customers - Venture Beat 8/20/09
36.
Jump up^ 150,000 College Students Save $12 Million Using Flat World Knowledge Open
Textbooks. Marketwire. August 23, 2010.
37.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge: Open College Textbooks by Sanford Forte.
Opensource.com. February 23, 2010.
38.
Jump up^ Organizational Behavior v1.1 by Talya Bauer & Berrin Erdogan. Irvington, NY: Flat
World Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - PDF view)
39.
Jump up^ Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor. Irvington, NY: Flat World
Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - web view)
40.

Jump up^ See Flat World Knowledge's website

41.

Jump up^ [1] Flat World Knowledge Website.

42.
Jump up^ Flat World Knowledge gets $15 million in Funding. Publishers Weekly.January 20,
2011.
43.

Jump up^ CK-12 FlexBooks. Homepage.

44.

Jump up^ Carl Stitz/Jeff Zeager on Ohio Textbook HQ 2010.

45.

Jump up^ CK-12 - Standards Correlations United States.

46.
Jump up^ Human Biology - Genetics CK-12 FlexBook by The Program in Human Biology,
Stanford University. (sample of free web access format)
47.

Jump up^ Curriki.org Homepage.

48.
Jump up^ Lewin, Tamar (21 October 2003). "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50,
Purchased Overseas". The New York Times. Retrieved24 September 2009.
49.
Jump up^ "Testimony of Marc L. Fleischaker, Counsel, National Association of College
Stores". Hearing on "Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?". U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. 20
July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
50.

Jump up^ Book Review: Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman!

51.

Jump up^ Rip-off 101: Second Edition, The Student PIRGs (2005)

52.

Jump up^ http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/edlite-txtbkstudy.html

Further reading[edit]

Baier, Kylie, et al. "College students textbook reading, or not." American Reading Forum
Annual Yearbook Vol. 31. 2011. online

Berkeley, Sheri, et al. "Are History Textbooks More Considerate After 20 Years?." Journal of
Special Education (2014) 47#4 PP: 217-230.

Buczynski, James A. "Faculty begin to replace textbooks with freely accessible online
resources." Internet Reference Services Quarterly (2007) 11#4 pp: 169-179.

Campbell, Alex, and Mr Flint. "New Digital Tools Let Professors Tailor Their Own Textbooks
for Under $20 And that's just one option, along with mix-and-match Web sites from big publishers
and libraries of open-source content." Chronicle of Higher Education (October 9, 2011). online

Carbaugh, Robert, and Koushik Ghosh. "Are college textbooks priced fairly?." Challenge
(2005) 48#5 pp: 95-112.

Casper, Scott E. et al. "Textbooks Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation about History,
Pedagogy, and Economics." Journal of American History (2014) 100#4 pp 11391169.

Chiappetta, Eugene L., and David A. Fillman. "Analysis of five high school biology textbooks
used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science." International Journal of Science
Education (2007) 29#15 pp: 1847-1868.

Doering, Torsten, Luiz Pereira, and L. Kuechler. "The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A
case study." Berlin (Germany): E-Leader (2012). online

Elliott, David L., and Arthur Woodward, eds. Textbooks and schooling in the United States
Vol. 89. NSSE, 1990.

Kahveci, Ajda. "Quantitative analysis of science and chemistry textbooks for indicators of
reform: A complementary perspective." International Journal of Science Education (2010) 32#11 pp:
1495-1519.

Koulaidis, Vasilis, and Anna Tsatsaroni. "A pedagogical analysis of science textbooks: How can
we proceed?." Research in Science Education (1996) 26#1 pp: 55-71.

Liang, Ye, and William W. Cobern. "Analysis of a Typical Chinese High School Biology
Textbook Using the AAAS Textbook Standards." (2013). online

Myers, Gregory A. "Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge." English for Specific
purposes (1992) 11#1: 3-17.

Richardson, Paul W. "Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study
from Economics." Studies in Higher Education (2004) 29#4: 505-521. online; on Australia

Roediger III, Henry L. "Writing Textbooks: Why Doesnt It Count?." Observer (2004) 17#5
online

Silver, Lawrence S., Robert E. Stevens, and Kenneth E. Clow. "Marketing professors
perspectives on the cost of college textbooks: a pilot study." Journal of Education for Business (2012)
87#1 pp: 1-6.


Stone, Robert W., and Lori J. Baker-Eveleth. "Students intentions to purchase electronic
textbooks." Journal of Computing in Higher Education (2013) 25#1 pp: 27-47.

Weiten, Wayne. "Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to

professors' impressions." Teaching of Psychology (1988) 15#1 pp: 10-16.

The textbook market does not operate in exactly the same manner as most consumer markets. First,
the end consumers (students) do not select the product, and the product is not purchased by faculty
or professors. Therefore, price is removed from the purchasing decision, giving the producer
(publishers) disproportionate market power to set prices high.
This fundamental difference in the market is often cited as the primary reason that prices are out of
control. The term "broken market" first appeared in the economist James Koch's analysis of the
market commissioned by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[6]
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of competition in the textbook market. Consolidation in the
past few decades[when?] has reduced the number of major textbook companies from around 30 to
just a handful.[7]Consequently, there is less competition than there used to be, and the high cost of
starting up keeps new companies from entering.
New editions and the used book market[edit]
Students seek relief from rising prices through the purchase of used copies of textbooks, which tend
to be less expensive. Most college bookstores offer used copies of textbooks at lower prices. Most
bookstores will also buy used copies back from students at the end of a term if the book is going to
be re-used at the school. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an
off-campus wholesaler for 0-30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores where the
books will be sold. Textbook companies have countered this by encouraging faculty to assign
homework that must be done on the publisher's website. If a student has a new textbook then he or
she can use the pass code in the book to register on the site. If the student has purchased a used
textbook then he or she must pay money directly to the publisher in order to access the website and
complete assigned homework.
Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or
title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used book sellers or retailers.
Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math
& science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about
significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another
tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up
prices," [8] A study conducted by The Student PIRGsfound that a new edition costs 12% more than a
new copy of previous edition, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook
publishers maintain these new editions are driven by faculty demand. The Student PIRGs' study
found that 76% of faculty said new editions were justified half of the time or less and 40% said they
were justified rarely or never.[9] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue
that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per
student.[10]

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on electronic textbooks, or "eTextbooks,"
does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not
recover any of the cost through resale.[11]
Bundling[edit]
Another publishing industry practice that has been highly criticized is "bundling," or shrink-wrapping
supplemental items into a textbook.[citation needed] Supplemental items range from CD-ROMs and
workbooks to online passcodes and bonus material. Students do not always have the option to
purchase these items separately, and often the one-time-use supplements destroy the resale value
of the textbook.[12]
According to the Student PIRGs, the typical bundled textbook is 10%-50% more than an unbundled
textbook, and 65% of professors said they rarely or never use the bundled items in their
courses.[9]
A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report found that the production of these
supplemental items was the primary cause of rapidly increasing prices:
While publishers, retailers, and wholesalers all play a role in textbook pricing, the primary factor
contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers
have made in new products to enhance instruction and learning...While wholesalers, retailers, and
others do not question the quality of these materials, they have expressed concern that the
publishers practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the
opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books....If publishers continue to increase
these investments, particularly in technology, the cost to produce a textbook is likely to continue to
increase in the future.[13]
Bundling has also been used as a means of segmenting the used book market. Each combination of a
textbook and supplemental items receives a separate ISBN. A single textbook could therefore have
dozens of ISBNs that denote different combinations of supplements packaged with that particular
book. When a bookstore attempts to track down used copies of textbooks, they will search for the
ISBN the course instructor orders, which will locate only a subset of the copies of the textbook.
Legislation on the state and federal level seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring
publishers to offer all components separately.[14] Publishers have testified in favor of bills including
this provision,[15] but only in the case that the provision exempts the loosely defined category of
"integrated textbooks." The Federal bill[16] only exempts 3rd party materials in integrated textbooks,
however publisher lobbyists have attempted to create a loophole through this definition in state
bills.[17][18]
Price disclosure[edit]
Given that the problem of high textbook prices is linked to the "broken" economics of the market,
requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices to faculty is a solution pursued by a number of
legislatures.[19] By inserting price into sales interactions, this regulation will supposedly make the
economic forces operate more normally.
No data suggests that this is in fact true. However, The Student PIRGs have found that publishers
actively withhold pricing information from faculty, making it difficult to obtain. Their most recent
study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only
40% got an answer when they directly asked. Furthermore, the study found that 23% of faculty rated

publisher websites as informative and easy to use and less than half said they typically listed the
price.[20]
The US Congress passed a law in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act that would require price
disclosure.[14][21][22] Legislation requiring price disclosure has passed in Connecticut,[23]
Washington,[24][25] Minnesota,[26]Oregon,[24] Arizona,[27] Oklahoma,[28] and Colorado.[18]
Publishers are currently supporting price disclosure mandates, though they insist that the "suggested
retail price"[29] should be disclosed, rather than the actual price the publisher would get for the
book.
Used textbook market[edit]
Once a textbook is purchased from a retailer for the first time, there are several ways a student can
sell his/her textbooks back at the end of the semester. Students can sell to 1) the college/university
bookstore; 2) fellow students; or 3) a number of online Web sites or student swap service.
Campus buyback[edit]
As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student
receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom
text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the
next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not
received a faculty order for the book at the end of the term and the edition is still current, they may
offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new
retail price, according to the GAO report.[13]
When students resell their textbooks during campus buyback periods, these textbooks are often
sold into the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on
campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to
a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically
75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective
companies to continue to operate.
Student to student sales[edit]
Students can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will
often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in
purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books
or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many
larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These
often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse
for those they wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire
specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.
Student online marketplaces[edit]
Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used
textbooks. Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list
their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book
themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of

selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their
books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books
individually.
Online book buyers[edit]
Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the aim of reselling
them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students
the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students
enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or offer. These
online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book),
and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying
books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can get on online marketplaces.
However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service.
Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a
lower total cost than even textbook rental services.
Textbook exchanges[edit]
In response to escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient
system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of
today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the
sale is completed.
According to textbook author Henry L. Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor
Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of
textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of
textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, and passing laws to prevent the sale
of used books.[30] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software,
which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand
that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old
tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal.
Rental programs[edit]
In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party
facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods,
opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles
or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system.
Textbook Sharing[edit]
Another method to help students save money that is coming up is called Textbooks Sharing. Using
textbook sharing the students share the physical textbook with other students, and also the cost of
the book is divided among the users of the textbook. So over the life of the textbook, if 4 students
use the textbook, the cost of the textbook for each student will be 25% of the total cost of the book.
Open textbooks[edit]
Main article: Open textbooks

The latest trend in textbooks is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed
textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and
are being used at schools such as MIT and Harvard.[31] A 2010 study published found that open
textbooks offer a viable and attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering
savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options.[32]
Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies
suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.[33][citation needed] To offer
another perspective[citation needed], any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient
numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open
textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work.
The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is that textbooks with good sales and
profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary
textbooks.[citation needed] Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in
the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the
following: higher retail prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles
published.
On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing.
Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open
textbooks that are used by more than 900 institutions in 44 countries.[34][35][36] Their business
model[37] was to offer the open textbook free online,[38][39] and then sell ancillary products that
students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle),
PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on these sales.[40]
With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a
goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World
Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for
students.[41] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highestenrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.[42]
CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses.[43] CK-12
FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state
textbook standards. CK-12 FlexBooks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. CK12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading
devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School
districts may select a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards.
The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without
paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example
print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages,
royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011).[44] (Any print on demand
service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower
prices for bulk purchases to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for
educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are
vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state
educational standards correlations.[45] Stanford University provided a number of titles in use.[46]
Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profit "empowering educators to deliver and share
curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards.[47]

Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular
lessons or special topics.
International market pricing[edit]
Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, the GAO report[13]
also highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have
expressed concern about the re-importation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations.
Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels
outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.
Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened
distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult
to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of College
Stores. Retailers and publishers have also been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged
in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from
international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza
protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under thefirst-sale doctrine, textbook publishers
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which
forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.[48] Concerned about the effects of
differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on
publishers to stop the practice of selling textbooks at lower prices outside the United States.[49] For
example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then reshipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book).
The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the charges for returned
books from bookstores.
Production[edit]
Cost distribution[edit]
According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by
expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a
committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% going to the store, and 64.6% going to the
publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada.[citation needed]
Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with
publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks.[citation needed]
Research[edit]
According to the GAO study published July 2005:
Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college
textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades.
Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall
average price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and
fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and
overall prices grew by 72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed
increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a
percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average
estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004

was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year
public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and
tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time
student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of
tuition and fees.[13]
According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
published in February 2005[citation needed]: "Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times
the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price
Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994,
while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period."
According to the 2007 edition of the College Boards Trend in College Pricing Report published
October 2007[citation needed]: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown
slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, as a percentage of total college costs,
have remained steady at about 5 percent."
K-12 textbooks[edit]
In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a
selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive
the books to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use
textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead.
Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state
purchasing controls over the books, most notably in Texas, where the Texas Education Agency sets
curricula for all courses taught by the state's 1,000+ school districts, and therefore also approves
which textbooks can be purchased.
High school[edit]
In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism.
Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks:
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything
Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain
mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to
what most students learn in universities. Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other
literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to theSoviet Union (USSR) and
the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political
forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.[citation needed]
Science textbooks have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from
several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been
debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to
declining grades in mathematics and science in the United States and organizations such as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount
of material given in textbooks.
Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education
debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a
debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P.
Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science
textbooks.[50] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical
phenomena; then a company sent for reasons of timing a textbook that contained blank pages,
which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery.
Mathematics[edit]
Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the
controversies of new math and reform mathematics which have sought to replace traditional
mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other
areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast
"progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with approaches that often
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or
omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common
denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own
method to multiply fractions which work on these examples", and the formula for the area of a circle
would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s,
while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as
unworkable.[citation needed]
Higher education[edit]
In the U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by
the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the
books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental
services and library reserve copies of texts, are available in some instances.
In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher
education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise.
With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every aspect of
college pricing, including textbooks, which in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The
2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s,
textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades[citation
needed]. A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices [13]
increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.[51] A June 2007 Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) report, Turn the Page, reported that the average U.S.
student spends $700$1000 per year on textbooks.[52]
While many groups have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found
that assigning blame to any one partyfaculty, colleges, bookstores or publishersfor current
textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry
to work together to find productive solutions, which included a movement toward open textbooks
and other lower-cost digital solutions.
Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case
books consisting of cases available free online.
Textbook bias on controversial topics[edit]

In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, the writer might be biased
towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific
theories are common potential biases.
See also[edit]

Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States.

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. - 2013 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding
textbook resale

Japanese textbook controversy

Pakistani textbooks controversy

Kanawha County textbook controversy

Sourcebook collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United
States

Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks.

Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly
in the book.

Problem book - A textbook, usually graduate level, organized as a series of problems and full
solutions.

Open textbook - More information about open textbook options.

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Further reading[edit]

Baier, Kylie, et al. "College students textbook reading, or not." American Reading Forum
Annual Yearbook Vol. 31. 2011. online

Berkeley, Sheri, et al. "Are History Textbooks More Considerate After 20 Years?." Journal of
Special Education (2014) 47#4 PP: 217-230.

Buczynski, James A. "Faculty begin to replace textbooks with freely accessible online
resources." Internet Reference Services Quarterly (2007) 11#4 pp: 169-179.

Campbell, Alex, and Mr Flint. "New Digital Tools Let Professors Tailor Their Own Textbooks
for Under $20 And that's just one option, along with mix-and-match Web sites from big publishers
and libraries of open-source content." Chronicle of Higher Education (October 9, 2011). online

Carbaugh, Robert, and Koushik Ghosh. "Are college textbooks priced fairly?." Challenge
(2005) 48#5 pp: 95-112.

Casper, Scott E. et al. "Textbooks Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation about History,
Pedagogy, and Economics." Journal of American History (2014) 100#4 pp 11391169.

Chiappetta, Eugene L., and David A. Fillman. "Analysis of five high school biology textbooks
used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science." International Journal of Science
Education (2007) 29#15 pp: 1847-1868.

Doering, Torsten, Luiz Pereira, and L. Kuechler. "The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A
case study." Berlin (Germany): E-Leader (2012). online

Elliott, David L., and Arthur Woodward, eds. Textbooks and schooling in the United States
Vol. 89. NSSE, 1990.

Kahveci, Ajda. "Quantitative analysis of science and chemistry textbooks for indicators of
reform: A complementary perspective." International Journal of Science Education (2010) 32#11 pp:
1495-1519.

Koulaidis, Vasilis, and Anna Tsatsaroni. "A pedagogical analysis of science textbooks: How can
we proceed?." Research in Science Education (1996) 26#1 pp: 55-71.

Liang, Ye, and William W. Cobern. "Analysis of a Typical Chinese High School Biology
Textbook Using the AAAS Textbook Standards." (2013). online

Myers, Gregory A. "Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge." English for Specific
purposes (1992) 11#1: 3-17.

Richardson, Paul W. "Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study
from Economics." Studies in Higher Education (2004) 29#4: 505-521. online; on Australia

Roediger III, Henry L. "Writing Textbooks: Why Doesnt It Count?." Observer (2004) 17#5
online

Silver, Lawrence S., Robert E. Stevens, and Kenneth E. Clow. "Marketing professors
perspectives on the cost of college textbooks: a pilot study." Journal of Education for Business (2012)
87#1 pp: 1-6.


Stone, Robert W., and Lori J. Baker-Eveleth. "Students intentions to purchase electronic
textbooks." Journal of Computing in Higher Education (2013) 25#1 pp: 27-47.

Weiten, Wayne. "Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to

professors' impressions." Teaching of Psychology (1988) 15#1 pp: 10-16.