No reading between rising cost of college textbooks

Marisa O’Neil

Students faced with repeated tuition hikes have to dig even deeper in

their pockets as newer and more costly textbooks hit the shelves each

semester.

In a report released Thursday, a student group found that students

are paying up to 20% of their fees for their textbooks -- about

$1,000 a year at UC Irvine, according to one official. Publishers are

partially responsible for the costs by frequently releasing new

editions and bundling books with other materials, the report said.

“I think it calls the publishers to task,” UCI Dean of Students

Sally Peterson said. “They need to work with faculty. Maybe

publishers will listen to faculty. They’re certainly not listening to

students.”

The California Student Public Interest Research Group conducted a

study of common textbooks and interviewed faculty and staff at

schools for the report. They found that the average cost for a new

textbook was $102.44, 58% higher than an average used textbook --

when students can find them.

“I couldn’t find people with my books,” said UCI criminology major

Lynly Lumibao. “And with some used editions, they are practically

falling apart. Sometimes they’re only $2 or $3 less than new ones.

Every time I go in [the bookstore] there are always more new editions

[than used].”

Part of the problem, according to the report, is new and sometimes

unnecessary editions of textbooks coming out. When a publisher

releases a new edition, the value of the previous one drops

significantly and bookstores are often unwilling to buy them back

from students.

New editions are often not justified, said 76% of faculty members

in the survey. Professors usually end up filling in the gaps in class

with new data anyway, Lumibao said.

“It’s pretty apparent some publishing companies are coming out

with new editions more frequently,” Peterson said.

Publishers also often bundle textbooks with software or workbooks

that professors may not use. In one case, the report found, a

“bundled” version of the book cost twice as much as just the book.

A spokeswoman for the Assn. of American Publishers could not be

reached.

Some students are finding ways around the costly book fees. Online

book swaps, including one run by UCI’s branch of the California

Student Public Interest Research Group, allow students to contact

each other on message boards and sell or exchange books, taking out

the middleman.

“I got my biology and biochemistry book on the swap,” UCI student

Melody Li said. “It was really convenient. I just e-mail the person

to ask if they still want to sell it, then we meet up on campus. I

didn’t have to pay $130 just for a new book to use for one or two

quarters. They sold it to me for half price.”

But students trying to cut costs by ordering books from online

retailers sometimes don’t get what they bargained for, said Orange

Coast College Dean of Students Kate Meuller. All too often, they end

up with the wrong edition unless they check carefully before

ordering.

OCC’s campus bookstore is now run by Barnes & Noble, which is able

to offer more used editions than when it was run by the school, she

said. But for the time being, she doesn’t see costs of new books

coming down.

“Students seem to just know that’s how it is,” she said. “They

don’t like it. I don’t like it. But the publishers just play this

game.”