I bought my books this term and I was appalled; prices just keep going up, seemingly without reason. A
recent report done by OSPIRG shows that publishers add “bells” and “whistles” to inflate the price of
textbooks. These bundles come Saran-Wrapped with additional
materials like CD-ROMs and workbooks, but more than 65 percent of the faculty surveyed say they “rarely” or “never” use these materials. Textbook publishers put new editions on the market frequently, usually with very few content changes, making the less expensive, used textbooks obsolete.
As a student of the University who relies on financial aid, reading this report made my blood boil, but there is a solution available for us students in the form of OSPIRG’s Affordable Textbooks campaign. As I write this they are working to put direct economic pressure on the publishers, are making it impossible for the publishers to ignore students, and are working with the University Bookstore to set up alternatives for students to buy and sell their textbooks (visit www.uobookstore.com for more information).
It is time for publishers to pay
attention to us and stop ripping us off.
Lynette Hieber
Eugene
Inbox: OSPIRG provides solutions for textbook woes
Daily Emerald
January 24, 2005
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