To Save Students Money, Colleges May Force a Switch to E-Textbooks

October 26, 2010 | Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Some companies and college leaders are now proposing that e-textbooks should be required reading and that colleges should be the ones charging for them. It is the best way to control skyrocketing costs and may actually save the textbook industry from digital piracy, they claim.

E-textbooks are far cheaper to produce than printed texts, making a bulk purchase more feasible. By ordering books by the hundreds or thousands, colleges can negotiate a much better rate than students were able to get on their own, even for used books. And publishers could eliminate the used-book market and reduce incentives for students to illegally download copies as well.