Textbook costs, legislation, and options: choosing your textbook in the 21st Century Terence W. Cavanaugh Department of Leadership, Counseling, and Technology University of North Florida tcavanau@unf.edu “While the end of the [printed] book remains a plausible scenario of the future, this is far from inevitable" (David Staley in The Futurist, 2003). “The future is now.” Nam June Paik

Textbook costs, legislation, and options: choosing your textbook in the 21st Century Abstract: Rising costs for textbooks, which can now add up to 1/5 to 1/2 the cost of tuition, have led to national and state legislation. Adopted legislation includes requirements such as of unbundling, publishing textbooks lists online 30 days in advance of a class starting, having copies of the texts available through campus libraries, and investigating options concerning the adopted texts. Many formats of textbooks are less expensive than printed books. Perhaps the most affordable solution is the open or open source textbook. This paper examines some of the options available for textbooks including textbook rental, digital textbooks and free open course textbooks, along with the feasibility of using such texts, advantages, and identifies possible barriers to their use.

=  = $$ Textbooks Costs Fixture of education ~$900/year 94%Grad Students pay for books with Credit Cards textbooks and materials costs today can add up to close to half of the tuition and fees of two-year public colleges Fixture of education Basis for 75-90% of instruction =  = $$

In the last twenty years, prices of college textbooks and supplies have nearly tripled.

Legislation U.S. the Higher Education Opportunity Act States “Unbundled” versions Pricing information more transparent for both students and faculty States 2008 there have were 50 proposed legislative bills in 27 states concerning textbooks tax breaks bundling purchasing options early publication of required books

Textbook options Physical Digital Textbook Options Others Bookstores New (100-120%) Used (~50%) Rental (10-50%) Digital eBooks (~50%) Online library (0-50%) Advertized text (0%) Open Source (0%) Others Online bookstore (<50-90%) Rental (10-50%) eBook (50%) Online library (0-50%) Advertized (0%) Open source (0%)

Fundamental criteria for a good digital textbook Affordability Inexpensive printing options accessibility From "Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks are Off Track and How to Set Them Straight" (Allen, N. and Student PIRGs, 2008)

Missouri ebook project Estimated to save the campus an estimated $400,000 a ($800,000 annually) Inventory of 50,000 to 80,000 textbooks which are rented to the students Students will pay $160 to $180 a year for their books, compared with the national average of $1,000 a year 

Why aren’t they being used? Majority of the students surveyed would prefer to use an electronic version over a print version Awareness of digital versions of text availability seems to be correlated to age digital generation gap?

Benefits with electronic versions of text Variable font(s) size Text-to-speech Changing contrast Creating summaries Meet special needs and accommodations

Sample open source textbooks for Freshman Classes English Composition Textbook, Literature section (37 books): http://www.wowio.com/ Mathematics First Course in Linear Algebra: http://linear.ups.edu/ Humanities An Introduction to Philosophy: http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/INTRO_TEXT/CONTENTS.htm Social Science US History (wikibooks): http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/US_History/Contents Sciences Motion Mountain Physics: http://www.motionmountain.net/  

Sample class: Graduate Educational Technology Multimedia About Face: Reviving the Rules of Typography The Evolution of the Book First Steps in Digital Design Brochure Design That Works Go Facts Arts: Media The Digital Darkroom: A Complete Guide to Image Processing for Digital Photographers Digital Photography Step-by-Step Animation: 2D and Beyond Simple Websites Motion Design: Moving Graphics for Television, Music, Video, Cinema and Digital Interfaces No-Copy Advertising Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint: PPT 2000, PPT 2002, PPT 2003 Bound By Law Game Plan Costs: Purchase: >$300 Download: ~$37 Read online: $0

Conclusions Faculty should continue selecting the best textbook available to assist the students in their learning Faculty need to research into the availability of digital textbooks to see what is available and possibly begin shifting from print version to other options such as open source/content textbooks, when they are appropriate for the content Not only would the use of digital options for text books perhaps lower costs of books to students and provide a format that is more easily adaptable for special needs

Sample Titles for Literature Class (Project Gutenberg) Secondary: Brontes, Charlotte. Jane Eyre Cather, Willa. My Antonia Conrad, Joseph, Lord Jim Dickens, Charles. Tale of Two Cities Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables Hudson, W. H. Green Mansions Lewis, Sinclair. Babbitt Maugham, Somerset. Of Human Bondage Riordon, William L. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall Shakespeare, William. The Tempest Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Thoreau, Henry David. Walden Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi Wells, H. G. The Time Machine Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein

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