Monday, January 11, 2010

College Textbooks

One of the things that bothers me most is the cost of college textbooks these days. Specifically, I can't understand it when textbook authors and publishers, rather than reusing the same book for a number of semesters, print a "new edition" that tries to force students to buy a new book, when in fact, the book is almost the same. You can often see this when the book is now it is 21st edition!

This is unfair to students, and it is just one more way that businesses make money off students. A lucrative business model that does little to remove the financial weight from college expenses.

So, what do you think students can do to same money on books?

Share your ideas.

Randall

5 comments:

  1. Hello everyone
    I think it not bad to buy new books,even if these have litte differences from ones published ever.Because the differences which you consider little can be very important and meaningful.
    Of course,saving money is also significant.You can organize a circle ,or a group whose purpose is to imform students about the diffences that books edited again gain newly.If students know the differences,that can be good study for students,and they can save money that they would spend without such information.

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  2. Hi Randall and everyone,

    I also wonder why we can't use the same book for the whole year. Indeed, it is a lucrative business for authors and publishers. One way to avoid spending too much money on books is to give students photocopies(printouts) and refer them to a webpage where they can get further remedial and extra practice material.

    What do you guys think?
    Best,
    Bruno
    Brazil

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  3. VJ Philippines,

    Thanks for the photo/xerox machines,but we should also observe the rules governing here particulary the copyright. It is unfair for those writers and publishers to copy their writings without authorization. For those who are stretching their budget, better to go to a local library to read books for free. There are also many stalls or bookstores who have their booksale. Check your stores nearby for promo or clearance sale. Don't forget also the benefits of having internet. We can search information at the comfort of our house without spending much.

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  4. I think the best way to save money in books is talking to the college
    autorities and explain to them the situation in order to continuing use the same text book for more than one semester,this one could give the students the opportunity to sale the book to a new students for a low price, so to this way both could save some money.

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  5. Nowadays spendthrifty people are cleverer than before,they usually compare the new edition with the old edition.If the book has some slight changes,students continue to use the old version.

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Thanks for posting a comment. I appreciate your interesting in sharing your ideas.

Best,

Randall

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