A Report on the Feasibility of Textbook Rental - IBHE

ook wholesalers, stands this issue on its head. According to Nebraska Book datapublished in a recent report by the Used Textbook Association (UTA), the frequency ofnew editions has barely changed since 1992. Nebraska’s data indicates that the increasein new editions with one- or two- year revision cycles is inconsequential, 227 titles withone-year revisions and 1,700 with two-year revisions out of a total of 178,827 titles. Incontrast those titles with three, four or five plus years between revisions were 3,074,1,684 and 2,818, respectively. In total, there were 169,324 titles that were not revisedversus only 9,503 that were, representing five percent of the total titles over a period offive plus years. There is no indication of the subjects of the titles that were revised, whythey were revised or why faculty chose them over older editions or competing productsfrom other publishers.Ironically, the UTA report did say, “Most bookstore managers (94%) believe newtextbook editions come out too frequently.” This opinion, we believe, is heavilyinfluenced by the preference of bookstore managers to sell used books because theirreturn is higher on each sale.The absolute bottom line is that no textbook or supplemental learning tool – new editionor old – will be produced by publishers if there is no market. As with any highlycompetitive sector with a tremendously diverse consumer base – there are some onemillion faculty nationwide – and a large number of product alternatives – numeroustextbooks with a wide range of price, course packs, free online textbooks, materialsdrawn from the web and professors own works, to mention a few – only the best willsurvive.• The report does not include cost-saving recommendations for bookstores. Bookstores play acrucial role in the final price of a text, marking up new texts approximately 33 percent and usedbooks by 50 percent. If bookstore markups were decreased, students would see an immediatesavings on their textbook expenditures.Options for Alternative Cost-Saving Measures, page 7State• Bullet 1 – “…cost-effective practices” – In almost all instances, the language used in this context“encourages” faculty and includes the words “without reducing the quality of instruction.”• Bullet 2 – “Require sample copies” – Who is to provide these samples? Neither publishers norany other private business can be required to provide free goods or services as a condition ofdoing business. A practice of this kind would likely violate Illinois law and ethics requirements.Also, we have found that college departments usually object to providing “free” textbooksbecause of the pressure this places on their budget and the difficulties of administering this kindof program.• Bullet 3 – “Prohibit …benefiting financially” – This language can create difficulties for facultywho author materials, receive honorariums for peer reviews of materials or participate in subjectseminars, for example. We suggest you consider the following language drawn from a bill passedby the New York Senate. Note that the bill precludes the sale of textbook samples, an unethicalpractice that drives up the cost of textbooks.o “No employee at an institution of higher education shall demand or receive any payment,loan, advance, or deposit of money, present or promised, for adopting specific coursematerials required for coursework or instruction; with the exception that the employeemay receive: 1) sample copies, instructor’s copies, or instructional material, that are notto be sold; 2) royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include such-73-