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buyback As for buyback on a specific campus, faculty decisions largely determine how much a student receives. If a professor chooses to use the same book the following semester, even if it is a custom text, designed specifically for an individual instructor, bookstores often buy the book back. The GAO |
report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid. If the bookstore has not received a faculty order for the book at the end of the |
term and the edition is still current, they may offer students the wholesale price of the book, which could range from 5 to 35 percent of the new retail price, according to the GAO report. When students resell their textbooks during campus “buyback” periods, these textbooks are often sold into |
the national used textbook distribution chain. If a textbook is not going to be used on campus for the next semester of courses then many times the college bookstore will sell that book to a national used book company. The used book company then resells the book to another college |
bookstore. Finally, that book is sold as used to a student at another college at a price that is typically 75% of the new book price. At each step, a markup is applied to the book to enable the respective companies to continue to operate. Student to student sales Students |
can also sell or trade textbooks among themselves. After completing a course, sellers will often seek out members of the next enrolling class, people who are likely to be interested in purchasing the required books. This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books or |
simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles. Many larger schools have independent websites set up for the purpose of facilitating such trade. These often operate much like digital classified ads, enabling students to list their items for sale and browse for those they |
wish to acquire. Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist. Student online marketplaces Online marketplaces are one of the two major types of online websites students can use to sell used textbooks. |
Online marketplaces may have an online auction format or may allow the student to list their books for a fixed price. In either case, the student must create the listing for each book themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way |
of selling used textbooks. Unlike campus buyback and online book, students are unlikely to sell all their books to one buyer using online marketplaces, and will likely have to send out multiple books individually. Online book buyers Online book buyers buy textbooks, and sometimes other types of books, with the |
aim of reselling them for a profit. Like online marketplaces, online book buyers operate year-round, giving students the opportunity to sell their books even when campus "buyback" periods are not in effect. Students enter the ISBN numbers of the books they wish to sell and receive a price quote or |
offer. These online book buyers often offer "free shipping" (which in actuality is built into the offer for the book), and allow students to sell multiple books to the same source. Because online book buyers are buying books for resale, the prices they offer may be lower than students can |
get on online marketplaces. However, their prices are competitive, and they tend to focus on the convenience of their service. Some even claim that buying used textbooks online and selling them to online book buyers has a lower total cost than even textbook rental services. Textbook exchanges In response to |
escalating textbook prices, limited competition, and to provide a more efficient system to connect buyers and sellers together, online textbook exchanges were developed. Most of today's sites handle buyer and seller payments, and usually deduct a small commission only after the sale is completed. According to textbook ... |
Roediger (and Wadsworth Publishing Company senior editor Vicki Knight), the used textbook market is illegitimate, and entirely to blame for the rising costs of textbooks. As methods of "dealing with this problem", he recommends making previous editions of textbooks obsolete, binding the textbook with other materials, a... |
prevent the sale of used books. The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software, which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction. The intent is to make users understand that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and |
that as such, subject to copyright. Obviously, this idea is completely opposed to the millennia-old tradition of the sale of used books, and would make that entire industry illegal. Rental programs In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party facilitator or |
renting directly from the store's inventory. Some stores use a hybrid of both methods, opting for in-store selections of the most popular books and the online option for more obscure titles or books they consider too risky to put in the rental system. Open textbooks The latest trend in textbooks |
is "open textbooks." An open textbook is a free, openly licensed textbook offered online by its author(s). According to PIRG, a number of textbooks already exist, and are being used at schools such as the MIT and Harvard. A 2010 study published found that open textbooks offer a viable and |
attractive means to meet faculty and student needs while offering savings of approximately 80% compared to traditional textbook options. Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense. To offer another |
perspective, any jurisdiction might find itself challenged to find sufficient numbers of credible academics who would be willing to undertake the effort of creating an open textbook without realistic compensation, in order to make such a proposal work. The other challenge involves the reality of publishing, which is th... |
with good sales and profitability subsidize the creation and publication of low demand but believed to be necessary textbooks. Subsidies skew markets and the elimination of subsidies is disruptive; in the case of low demand textbooks the possibilities following subsidy removal include any or all of the following: highe... |
prices, a switch to open textbooks, a reduction of the number of titles published. On the other hand, independent open textbook authoring and publishing models are developing. Most notably, the startup publisher Flat World Knowledge already has dozens of college-level open textbooks that are used by more than 900 insti... |
in 44 countries. Their innovative business model was to offer the open textbook free online, and then sell ancillary products that students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable - print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle), PDF download, etc. Flat World Knowledge compensates its authors with royalties on |
these sales. With the generated revenue Flat World Knowledge funded high-quality publishing activities with a goal of making the Flat World financial model sustainable. However, in January, 2013 Flat World Knowledge announced their financial model could no longer sustain their free-to-read options for students. Flat Wo... |
open textbooks available for the 125 highest-enrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years. CK-12 FlexBooks are the open textbooks designed for United States K-12 courses. CK-12 FlexBooks are designed to facilitate conformance to national and United States and individual state textbook standards. CK-12... |
a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license, are easy to update, and easy to customize. CK-12 FlexBooks are free to use online and offer formats suitable for use on portable personal reading devices and computers - both online and offline. Formats for both iPad and Kindle are offered. School districts may select |
a title as is or customize the open textbook to meet local instructional standards. The file may be then accessed electronically or printed using any print on demand service without paying a royalty, saving 80% or more when compared to traditional textbook options. An example print on demand open textbook |
title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages, royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March, 2011). (Any print on demand service could be used - this is just an example. School districts could easily negotiate even lower prices for bulk purchases |
to be printed in their own communities.) Teacher's editions are available for educators and parents. Titles have been authored by various individuals and organizations and are vetted for quality prior to inclusion in the CK-12 catalog. An effort is underway to map state educational standards correlations. Stanford Univ... |
number of titles in use. CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide using a standards driven, open-licensed, web-based, collaborative content aggregation model. Curriki is another modular K-12 content non-profi... |
to deliver and share curricula." Selected Curriki materials are also correlated to U.S. state educational standards. Some Curriki content has been collected into open textbooks and some may be used for modular lessons or special topics. |This section may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subje... |
the article from being verifiable and neutral. (March 2012)| Wikibooks is a Wikimedia project that aims to provide and promote the editing of open-content textbooks. Wikibooks is for textbooks, annotated texts, instructional guides, and manuals. These materials can be used in a traditional classroom, an accredited or r... |
home-school environment, as part of a Wikiversity course or for self-learning. As a general rule only instructional books are suitable for inclusion. Most types of books, both fiction and non-fiction, are not allowed on Wikibooks, unless they are instructional. The use of literary elements, such as allegory or fables a... |
instructional tools can be permitted in some situations. Although the project does not permit verbatim copies of pre-existing works (those would be covered by WikiSource), it does permit annotated texts, which are a kind of text that includes an original text within it and serves as a guide to reading |
or studying that text. Annotated editions of previously published source texts may only be written if the source text is compatible with the project's license. MIT OpenCourseWare Provides several open textbooks. International market pricing Similar to the issue of reimportation of pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market, ... |
highlights a similar phenomenon in textbook distribution. Retailers and publishers have expressed concern about the reimportation of lower-priced textbooks from international locations. Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels outside the United States at lo... |
sales for U.S. retailers. Additionally, the availability of lower-priced textbooks through these channels has heightened distrust and frustration among students regarding textbook prices, and college stores find it difficult to explain why their textbook prices are higher, according to the National Association of Colle... |
been concerned that some U.S. retailers may have engaged in reimportation on a large scale by ordering textbooks for entire courses at lower prices from international distribution channels. While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under the first-s... |
have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors. Concerned about the effects of differential pricing on college stores, the National Association of College Stores has called on publishers to stop the pr... |
at lower prices outside the United States. For example, some U.S. booksellers arrange for drop-shipments in foreign countries which are then re-shipped to America where the books can be sold online at used prices (for a "new" unopened book). The authors often getting half-royalties instead of full-royalties, minus the ... |
for returned books from bookstores. Cost distribution According to the National Association of College Stores, the entire cost of the book is justified by expenses, with typically 11.7% of the price of a new book going to the author's royalties (or a committee of editors at the publishing house), 22.7% |
going to the store, and 64.6% going to the publisher. The store and publisher amounts are slightly higher for Canada. Bookstores and used-book vendors profit from the resale of textbooks on the used market, with publishers only earning profits on sales of new textbooks. According to the GAO study published |
July 2005: Following closely behind annual increases in tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, college textbook and supply prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades. Rising at an average of 6 percent each year since academic year 1987-1988, compared with overall average |
price increases of 3 percent per year, college textbook and supply prices trailed tuition and fee increases, which averaged 7 percent per year. Since December 1986, textbook and supply prices have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and overall prices grew by |
72 percent. While increases in textbook and supply prices have followed increases in tuition and fees, the cost of textbooks and supplies for degree-seeking students as a percentage of tuition and fees varies by the type of institution attended. For example, the average estimated cost of books and supplies per |
first-time, full-time student for academic year 2003-2004 was $898 at 4-year public institutions, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At 2-year public institutions, where low-income students are more likely to pursue a degree program and tuition and fees are lower, the average estimated cost of |
books and supplies per first-time, full-time student was $886 in academic year 2003-2004, representing almost three-quarters of the cost of tuition and fees. According to the 2nd edition of a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) published in February 2005: "Textbook prices are increasing ... |
more than four times the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994, while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent. Similarly, the prices charged by |
publishers for general books increased just 19 percent during the same time period." According to the 2007 edition of the College Board’s Trend in College Pricing Report published October 2007: "College costs continue to rise and federal student aid has shown slower growth when adjusted for inflation, while textbooks, ... |
a percentage of total college costs, have remained steady at about 5 percent." K-12 textbooks In most U.S. K-12 public schools, a local school board votes on which textbooks to purchase from a selection of books that have been approved by the state Department of Education. Teachers receive the books |
to give to the students for each subject. Teachers are usually not required to use textbooks, however, and many prefer to use other materials instead. Textbook publishing in the U.S. is a business primarily aimed at large states. This is due to state purchasing controls over the books. The Texas |
State Board of Education spends in excess of $600 million annually on its central purchasing of textbooks. High school In recent years, high school textbooks of United States history have come under increasing criticism. Authors such as Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), Gilbert T. Sewall (Textbooks... |
Where the Curriculum Meets the Child) and James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong), make the claim that U.S. history textbooks contain mythical untruths and omissions, which paint a whitewashed picture that bears little resemblance to what most students learn in uni... |
Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China. The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure gro... |
have been the source of ongoing debates and have come under scrutiny from several organizations. The presentation or inclusion of controversial scientific material has been debated in several court cases. Poorly designed textbooks have been cited as contributing to declining grades in mathematics and science in the Uni... |
organizations such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) have criticized the layout, presentation, and amount of material given in textbooks. Discussions of textbooks have been included on creation and evolution in the public education debate. The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County ca... |
forward a debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks. In his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the late physics Nobel Prize laureate Richard P. Feynman described his experiences as a member of a committee that evaluated science textbooks. At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illu... |
phenomena; then a company sent — for reasons of timing — a textbook that contained blank pages, which even got good critiques. Feynman himself experienced attempts at bribery. Largely in the US, but increasingly in other nations, K-12 Mathematics textbooks have reflected the controversies of new math and reform mathema... |
which have sought to replace traditional mathematics in what have been called the math wars. Traditional texts, still favored in Asia and other areas, merely taught the same time-tested mathematics that most adults have learned. By contrast "progressive" approaches seek to address problems in social inequity with appro... |
incorporate principles of constructivism and discovery. Texts such as TERC and CMP discourage or omit standard mathematics methods and concepts such as long division and lowest common denominators. For example an index entry to multiply fractions would lead to "devise your own method to multiply fractions which work on... |
examples", and the formula for the area of a circle would be an exercise for a student to derive rather than including it in the student text. By the 2000s, while some districts were still adopting the more novel methods, others had abandoned them as unworkable. Higher education In the |
U.S., college and university textbooks are chosen by the professor teaching the course, or by the department as a whole. Students are typically responsible for obtaining their own copies of the books used in their courses, although alternatives to owning textbooks, such as textbook rental services and library reserve c... |
of texts, are available in some instances. In some European countries, such as Sweden or Spain, students attending institutions of higher education pay for textbooks themselves, although higher education is free of charge otherwise. With higher education costs on the rise, many students are becoming sensitive to every ... |
college pricing, including textbooks, and in many cases amount to one tenth of tuition costs. The 2005 Government Accountability Office report on college textbooks said that since the 1980s, textbook and supply prices have risen twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades. A 2005 PIRG study found |
have assigned blame to publishers, bookstores or faculty, the ACSFA also found that assigning blame to any one party—faculty, colleges, bookstores or publishers—for current textbook costs is unproductive and without merit. The report called on all parties within the industry to work together to find productive solution... |
movement toward open textbooks and other lower-cost digital solutions. Textbook prices are considerably higher in Law School. Students ordinarily pay close to $200 for case books consisting of cases available free online. Textbook bias on controversial topics In cases of history, science, current events, and political ... |
be biased towards one way or another. Topics such as actions of a country, presidential actions, and scientific theories are common potential biases. See also - Casebook - A special type of textbook used in law schools in the United States. - Japanese textbook controversy - Pakistani textbooks controversy - |
Kanawha County textbook controversy - Sourcebook – collection of texts, often used in social sciences and humanities in the United States - Wikibooks - A sister project to Wikipedia whose goal is to create textbooks. - Workbook - Usually filled with practice problems, where the answers can be written directly |
of the class: Consolidation, talent pool have made Columbus a hotbed for educational publishers. August 5, 2007. Retrieved 2/14/09. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. - D'Gama, Alissa and Benjamin Jaffe. "Professors Find Differents Uses for Textbook Profits." The Harvard Crimson, 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 7 Oc... |
2011. - Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drive Up the Cost of College Textbooks The Student PIRGs (2004) - Capriccioso, Rob. Throwing Down the Book. Inside Higher Ed, August 29, 2006. Retrieved 2/14/09. - Allen, Nicole. Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks Are Off Track and |
How to Set Them Straight. The Student PIRGs (2008) - Required Reading: A Look at the Words Publishing Tactics at Work, The Student PIRGs (2006) - "College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price Increases." U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2005. Abstract. Retrieved 7 October 201... |
of Textbook Affordability Provisions in H.R. 4137, The Student PIRGs - "Higher Education Opportunity Act." H.R.4137, U.S. House of Representatives, 110th Congress (2007-2008.) Public Law No. 110-315. Retrieved 7 October 2011. - HB 2048. Missouri House of Representatives, 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2011. - Summ... |
Number SB08-073. Colorado General Assembly, 2008. Last updated 04 August 2008. Retrieved 07 October 2011. - Zomer, Saffron. Exposing the Textbook Industry, The Student PIRGs (2007) - Washington Governor Signs College Textbook Transparency Act, The Student PIRGs (Press Release) - See PIRG's Catalog of Open Textbooks for... |
textbooks - A Cover to Cover Solution by Nicole Allen of the Student PIRGs. 2010. - Flat World Knowledge President Eric Frank Addresses Oregon Legislators on Solving Textbook Affordability. Pressitt. February 21, 2011. - Open-source textbook co. Flat World goes back to school with 40,000 new customers - Venture Beat |
8/20/09 - 150,000 College Students Save $12 Million Using Flat World Knowledge Open Textbooks. Marketwire. August 23, 2010. - Flat World Knowledge: Open College Textbooks by Sanford Forte. Opensource.com. February 23, 2010. - Organizational Behavior v1.1 by Talya Bauer & Berrin Erdogan. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowle... |
open textbook format sample - PDF view) - Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge. 2010. (Free online open textbook format sample - web view) - See Flat World Knowledge's website - Flat World Knowledge Website. - Flat World Knowledge gets $15 million in Funding. Publishers |
Weekly. January 20, 2011. - CK-12 FlexBooks. Homepage. - Carl Stitz/Jeff Zeager on Ohio Textbook HQ 2010. - CK-12 - Standards Correlations United States. - Human Biology - Genetics CK-12 FlexBook by The Program in Human Biology, Stanford University. (sample of free web access format) - About CK-12 Foundation - |
Curriki.org Homepage. - Lewin, Tamar (21 October 2003). "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50, Purchased Overseas". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2009. - "Testimony of Marc L. Fleischaker, Counsel, National Association of College Stores". Hearing on "Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?". U.S. House of Re... |
and the Workforce, Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. 20 July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009. - Rip-off 101: Second Edition, The Student PIRGs (2005) Further reading - Slatalla, Michelle (August 30, 2007), "Knowledge Is Priceless but Textbooks Are Not", New Yo... |
Food vs. fuel Food vs. fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of diverting farmland or crops for biofuels production in detriment of the food supply on a global scale. The "food vs. fuel" or "food or fuel" debate is international in scope, with valid arguments on all sides of the issue. There is disagreement about how ... |
it, and what can or should be done about it. Biofuel production has increased in recent years. Some commodities like maize (corn), sugar cane or vegetable oil can be used either as food, feed, or to make biofuels. For example, since 2006, a portion of land that was also formerly used to grow other crops in the United S... |
corn for biofuels, and a larger share of corn is destined to ethanol production, reaching 25% in 2007. A major debate exists on the extent to which biofuels policies contributed to high agricultural prices levels and volatility. A recent study for the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development shows tha... |
in 2009, in comparison with what prices would have been had ethanol production been frozen at 2004 levels. Lester R. Brown claimed that, since converting the entire grain harvest of the US would only produce 16% of its auto fuel needs, energy markets are effectively placed in competition with food markets for scarce ar... |
efforts are currently being put into the production of second generation biofuels from non-food crops, crop residues and waste. Second generation biofuels could hence potentially combine farming for food and fuel and moreover, electricity could be generated simultaneously, which could be beneficial for developing count... |
increases taking place since 2003 and the desire to reduce oil dependency as well as reduce GHG emissions from transportation, there is also fear of the potential destruction of natural habitats by being converted into farmland. Environmental groups have raised concerns about this trade-off for several years, but now t... |
the other hand, several studies do show that biofuel production can be significantly increased without increased acreage. Therefore stating that the crisis in hand relies on the food scarcity. Brazil has been considered to have the world's first sustainable biofuels economy and its government claims Brazil's sugar cane... |
working paper released in July 2008 concluded that "...large increases in biofuels production in the United States and Europe are the main reason behind the steep rise in global food prices", and also stated that "Brazil's sugar-based ethanol did not push food prices appreciably higher". However, a 2010 study also by t... |
of biofuel production, as "the effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thought, but that the use of commodities by financial investors (the so-called "financialisation of commodities") may have been partly responsible for the 2007/08 spike." A 2008 independent study by OECD also found that... |
From 1974 to 2005 real food prices (adjusted for inflation) dropped by 75%. Food commodity prices were relatively stable after reaching lows in 2000 and 2001. Therefore, recent rapid food price increases are considered extraordinary. A World Bank policy research working paper published on July 2008 found that the incre... |
despite record crops worldwide. From January 2005 until June 2008, maize prices almost tripled, wheat increased 127 percent, and rice rose 170 percent. The increase in grain prices was followed by increases in fats and oil prices in mid-2006. On the other hand, the study found that sugar cane production has increased r... |
except for 2005 and early 2006. The paper concluded that biofuels produced from grains have raised food prices in combination with other related factors between 70 to 75 percent, but ethanol produced from sugar cane has not contributed significantly to the recent increase in food commodities prices. An economic assessm... |
biofuel policies on world crop prices, largely through increased demand for cereals and vegetable oils, is significant but should not be overestimated. Current biofuel support measures alone are estimated to increase average wheat prices by about 5 percent, maize by around 7 percent and vegetable oil by about 19 percen... |
up by a factor of three in less than 3 years (measured in US dollars). Reports in 2007 linked stories as diverse as food riots in Mexico due to rising prices of corn for tortillas, and reduced profits at Heineken the large international brewer, to the increasing use of corn (maize) grown in the US Midwest for ethanol p... |
the barley area was cut in order to increase corn production. Barley is not currently used to produce ethanol.) Wheat is up by almost a factor of 3 in 3 years, while soybeans are up by a factor of 2 in 2 years (both measured in US dollars). As corn is commonly used as feed for livestock, higher corn prices lead to high... |
in animal source foods. Vegetable oil is used to make biodiesel and has about doubled in price in the last couple years. The price is roughly tracking crude oil prices. The 2007–2008 world food price crisis is blamed partly on the increased demand for biofuels. During the same period rice prices went up by a factor of ... |
the production of biofuel pushed food prices up. These conclusions were supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists in their September 2008 newsletter in which they remarked that the World Bank analysis "contradicts U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schaffer's assertion that biofuels account for only a small percenta... |
prices continued to rise in October 2008 and were 6.3 percent higher than October 2007.[dubious ] Since July 2008 fuel costs dropped by nearly 60 percent. Proposed causes Ethanol fuel as an oxygenate additive The demand for ethanol fuel produced from field corn was spurred in the U.S. by the discovery that methyl terti... |
oxygenate additive was widespread due to mandates of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1992 to reduce carbon monoxide emissions. As a result, by 2006 MTBE use in gasoline was banned in almost 20 states. There was also concern that widespread and costly litigation might be taken against the U.S. gasoline suppliers, and a ... |
market for ethanol fuel, the primary substitute for MTBE. At a time when corn prices were around US$ 2 a bushel, corn growers recognized the potential of this new market and delivered accordingly. This demand shift took place at a time when oil prices were already significantly rising. Other factors That food prices we... |
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