High Cost of Books Conversation Summary. Inflation is all around us. As we go about our day the necessities of

Transcription

1 Cameron Reynolds Reynolds 1 Professor Charlotte Howe ENGL /November/2011 High Cost of Books Conversation Summary Inflation is all around us. As we go about our day the necessities of life get ever more expensive. This is especially recognized by college students who can easily pay five hundred dollars per semester for textbooks for their classes. Most students have a very hard time paying the extremely high prices offered by the schools bookstore. Instead they seek other sources for books at competitive prices, usually a used book store or the internet. Within this paper we will examine different points of view of what determines the price of college textbooks and if that system is, or should be challenged, and how a student can save money. Ethan Trex, a student in a doctoral program at the Wharton School in Philadelphia starts out by saying that most publishers would explain that textbooks are expensive to make. With hundreds of colorful pages complete with charts, graphs, and illustrations it s a lot more costly than just putting black print on a white page. Ethan agrees with this point to a certain extent, but his argument is that professors don t have any incentive to be price sensitive towards books, because they receive them for free from the publisher. Publishers do this to encourage professors to use their text as required reading for their course. Ethan also argues that a small factor contributing to the high cost is the used book market. Publisher claim they re losing out on

2 Reynolds 2 sales which necessitates higher retail prices for the new books they do sell. Henry Roediger is James McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. Henry expounds on Ethan s idea of the used books being a contributor. Henry believes, like most people that printing charts, graphs, and illustrations contribute to higher prices, but he doesn t think any one of those things is the fundamental cause. Henry doesn t think used books are a small factor, he believes it s the biggest factor. Henry talks about textbook companies that invest thousands of dollars for textbooks to be developed, reviewed, produced, marketed, and distributed only to have them resold over and over again and being denied their just profits. The author or authors who wrote the book over many years are denied their royalties. Meanwhile, used book stores are making huge profits for doing nothing. Henry even calls the used book stores parasites. Henry compares this issue to pirated movies and music that are sold very cheaply denying profits to the companies and artists to which they rightfully belong. Charlotte Allen cites a study done in September In this study an advisory committee to the U.S. Education Department issued a lengthy analysis of the economic forces that possibly lead to high textbook prices. The usual causes are pointed out in this study; the demand for a student wanting to pass a class has to buy the book; and the graphs, charts, illustrations and maps put into books. Charlotte points out something that hasn t been brought up though and that s the Big Four,

3 Reynolds 3 or the four companies that dominate the textbook market which are Thompson, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall and Houghton-Mifflin. When another company comes into the picture they are usually bought up, or put out of business by barriers created by the Big Four. Another contributor that Charlotte points out is when textbook publishers will bundle the actual book with study guides, CD ROMs and other supplementary items to increase the price that has to be paid for a book even if the student doesn t have a need for these items. Laws have been put into action to require the unbundling of these items so they are sold separately. Charlotte points out that textbook publishers resists such measures - and for good reason. As they point out, students are willing to spend up to $400 for an ipod - so why not $200 for a chemistry book? Allen Grove is the former director of a program for new college students, a professor of English, and a freelance writer who focuses on college admissions, student success, and the transition from high school to college. Allen points out why college textbooks are so expensive by relating them to high school textbooks. Allen mostly repeats what has already been said but offers some additional insights. Online companions are a frequent contributor to higher prices, in which a book is complimented by an online resource where the subscription fee is built into the price of the book. Allen s main point is faculty control. In high school the choice of books if often decided by a department or committee. Prices are usually negotiated with the publisher. In college, individual faculty members or professors have complete control of the books that they will require

4 Reynolds 4 for their course, and not all professors are sensitive to cost. Some professors will assign a book just because they wrote it, and will receive royalties for you buying their book. Laura Coffey a writer, editor, and producer for TODAY.com doesn t point out what causes textbook prices to be so high but instead informs students how to beat the system. Some of her suggestions are, as already pointed out, the very actions that cause high prices such as selling your books to a used book store or to an individual. She also suggests that students share books which is not only denying the publisher more revenue but also book stores. So what can be done about the ever increasing cost of books? Henry Roediger has this to say. What can you as an individual do about the used book problem and the rising cost of textbooks? Unfortunately, the answer is probably not much.

5 Reynolds 5 Works Cited Allen, Charlotte. "Why Do Textbooks Cost So Much?" Minding the Campus. 4 Apr Web. 17 Nov < Coffey, Laura T. "11 Ways to Beat the System When Buying Textbooks - Back to School - TODAY.com." TODAY.com: Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Natalie Morales - TODAY Show Video, News, Recipes, Health, Pets. Web. 16 Nov < Grove, Allen. "College Books - Why Do College Books Cost So Much?" College Admissions. Web. 16 Nov < Roediger, Henry L. "Why Are Textbooks so Expensive?" Web. 16 Nov < Trex, Ethan. "Why Are Textbooks So Expensive? - Mental Floss." Random, Interesting, Amazing Facts - Fun Quizzes and Trivia - Mental Floss. 02 Sept Web. 16 Nov <