A Report on the Feasibility of Textbook Rental - IBHE

• Additionally, if all textbooks for a university are to be stored at the library, then this would have alarge fiscal impact on the university library.Cost, page 41• The cost of course materials is already made available to faculty by publishers’ marketingrepresentatives and through numerous sites on the Internet.Tax Exemptions, page 41• This same fiscal impact would occur if the state switched to rental programs.Technology, page 41• Suggested language change. Line 1: “…universities could EMPLOY MORE PUBLISHERtechnology…”E-books, page 42• Standards for e-books vary by publisher. Some publishers make texts available for a year ratherthan a semester, and several make e-books available for permanent download to one or morecomputers. It is incorrect to say that an e-book is only available for one semester.Custom Books, page 42• Custom books, like e-books, provide an upfront and guaranteed savings for students at thebeginning of the semester when budgets are tightest. Also, custom books have a resale market ifthe same text is chosen for use again the next semester.Unbundling, page 43• Again, publishers do not set the final price of course materials. Any final prices found at auniversity must be provided by the bookstore.• Additionally, if students were to purchase textbooks and course materials a la carte, in most casesthe students would pay more for their materials. Materials sold in a package are offered as aneducational tool, and many times are offered at a discount rate to students. See Appendices F andG.Third-party Bookstore Recommendations for Addressing High Textbook Costs, page 45• As stated previously, none of these suggestions will reduce the cost of textbooks for students inthe long term.CONCLUSION• There is no proof in the document or elsewhere that indicates that legislation has been “aneffective tool to encourage efforts to curtail textbook costs.”-80-