Crib Sheet: Breaking the Bank for Books

GAO report confirms skyrocketing textbook prices. Here are 10 things students can do to save money and make change.

By Courtney Morse, Portland State University

The United States Government Accounting Office (GAO) just released a new report on Tuesday that confirmed what my friends and I have known all along – textbook prices are high, way too high.

The GAO investigation, which was requested by my Congressman, David Wu (D-OR), found that textbook prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the past two decades, at a rate of six percent each year, compared to overall price increases of three percent a year. And if that wasn’t bad enough, most students spend an average of $900 per year on textbooks!

Between unnecessary new editions and special “bundled” supplements, like CD-ROMs (which in my opinion are better used as frisbees) and “workbooks” that just collect dust, textbooks have become a significant college expense. According to the GAO’s report, students at a community college spend significantly more on textbooks than they do on tuition and fees (72% of their college costs are textbooks and 27% for students at a public four-year university).

We all know how important a college education is, and with students already facing the prospect of ever rising tuition costs and average student loan debt in excess of $18,000, we just can’t bear another expense. It is unacceptable for textbook publishers to increase their bottom line by artificially inflating the cost of books for us.

So, what can we do about it? The Campaign to Make Textbooks Affordable, a project of the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), has a slew of ideas about how students can fight high textbook prices by getting media attention, working with campus faculty and administrators, and buying books from alternative sources.

Here are 10 things you can do to save money and change the textbook industry. Let’s fight back against the great textbook ripoff!

1. Build the world’s largest textbook pile. Pick a spot in the middle of the quad and get people to leave all the books they couldn’t sell because a new edition came out, or because they didn’t have the new workbook. Give your campus or local newspaper a heads up, and they’ll be sure to cover your story. It’s a great visual.
   


2. CD-ROM challenge – What are they good for? Challenge students to come up with the most creative use for the bundled CD-ROMs they don’t use. No idea is stupid – sculptures, collages, just go for it! Send all the CD-ROM creations to the publishers.


3. Adopt a resolution. Ask that your Student Government and each Academic Department formally call on publishers to change their practices. You can download a sample resolution at www.MakeTextBooksAffordable.org.
   


4. Use an online bookswap. Bookswaps allow students to buy and sell used books directly from each other. Several online bookswaps already exist. Check out www.CampusBookSwap.com, a bookswap run by students for students, free of charge.
   


5. Start a rental service on campus. Textbook rental services have been in existence for over a century and are in place at at least 20 colleges and universities around the country. Textbook rental fees range from $130 to $240 per year. For a guide on how to start a rental service on your campus, check out a new report, “Affordable Textbooks for the 21st Century: A guide to establishing textbook rental services,” by the CALPIRG Education Fund. The report is available at www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org.
   


6. Buy textbooks overseas through the Internet. American publishers sell the same books overseas for as low as half the price of the American version. For example, Thomson Learning’s website sells Calculus: Early Transcendentals for $125 to American students, $97 ($125 C) to Canadian students and $65 (35 pounds) to British students. You can buy books overseas on many websites, including: www.amazon.co/uk and www.campusbooks.com.
   


7. Ask your professors to order textbooks early. If the campus bookstore knows before the end of the quarter/semester that the professor is going to use the same book the next quarter/semester, the bookstore will pay more for used copies because they know they’ll be able to resell them. Encourage your professors to use the same book for as long as possible and ask them to submit their textbook orders to the bookstore before the end of the quarter/semester, so students can sell their used books for more money.
   


8. Ask your professors to negotiate lower prices and longer shelf lives for textbooks. The UCLA Math Department negotiated a 20% price cut for a popular Thomson Learning calculus book with just a little bit of pushing and the UC Santa Cruz Physics Department negotiated a reprint of a 1980 physics book that is just as good (and much cheaper) than brand new books. Let your professors know about these examples and inspire them to try to do the same.
   


9. Borrow a free copy from the campus library or your professors. Publishing companies and their sales representatives send professors multiple free samples of textbooks as a way to promote new products. Many professors either keep these copies or donate them to the campus library. Before you buy a book, check to see if you can borrow a free copy from either your professor or the library.
   


10. Contact your elected officials. Many state legislatures including California, Connecticut and Illinois have started investigating publishers’ practices. Call your state and federal representatives and share your personal story. If your representative knows students in their district are struggling to afford textbooks they are much more likely to take action. Find your representative at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.
    

Illustration: Matt Bors

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