Last year, the University was one of only 10 institutions of higher learning nationwide to offer digital textbooks, more commonly known as e-books, to students as an alternative to print textbooks.
As the University Bookstore now enters its second year of the experimental program, it seems students, who are typically early-adopters of digital technologies, still prefer learning from texts the old-fashioned way.
Gina Murray, text buyer at the bookstore, said the book department sold fewer than 90 e-books during the entire 2005-06 school year. Even with its low total, she said, the University still sold more e-books during that time than any other school involved in the pilot program formed by Missouri Book Services Text Exchange, Inc.
Nevertheless, sales continue to be slow this year. Students approached for this story had no knowledge of the e-books’ availability.
David Herrick, whose general chemistry class is among those offering an e-book option this term, asked for a show of hands in class to see how many of his 310 students purchased e-books. He said no students raised their hands, though one said he would consider getting one after learning what they were.
“I don’t think anyone knew what I was
talking about,” Herrick said.There are 17 other titles available as e-books this term.
“It’s not many, but it’s a good start,” Book Division Team Leader Bruce Lundy said. Lundy said the bookstore and MBS, which already provides most of the bookstore’s inventory, are trying new ways to market
e-books to better get the word out to students. The bookstore set up a large display near the course book section explaining the features of e-books, and has a demonstration program available for students to use.
E-books offer a variety of options to students, Murray said, many of which depend on the publishers of the each book.
“They’re just sort of stepping carefully into this and testing the waters just like we are,” Lundy said. “I think it’s cool that we’re starting it.”
The main appeal of e-books, Murray said, comes from the considerably cheaper up-front cost. The digital version of the text for Herrick’s CH 221 class, for example, costs $87 for an e-book and $149 for a regular textbook. But students should also consider that e-books cannot be sold back at the end of the term as regular textbooks can, Murray said. Once an e-book is accessed, there is no refund, even if a student drops a class after buying it.
Some other features of e-books include a search tool to more easily locate subject matter, digital highlighting and the ability to place and remove notes within the text.
To purchase an e-book, students must buy a card with a code that is activated at the cash register before they exit the store. Then they must register the card at www.digitaltextbooks.net to begin using it.
Each e-book can only be downloaded once, and therefore should be loaded on the computer the student intends to use. Most e-books expire after 12 months and offer unlimited printing, but those details also depend on the publisher, Murray said.
Information Technology Team Leader Kwan Yee said he had prior experience with e-books while taking online classes at the University of Phoenix, which operates
entirely with e-books.
“I hated it the first time I started using it, but once you start using it, you really do appreciate the convenience factor,” Yee said. “Now that I’ve used the digital text, I’d have a hard time switching back.”
Yee said the ability to search and place notes was what he liked best.
“That was really, really handy,” he said. “It made my learning a lot faster.”
Murray said one potential reason for the slow sales could be the University’s primarily liberal arts curriculum, as opposed to the University of Phoenix’s technologically focused programs.
“For the course offerings here, I think the book is still the preferred way of learning,” Murray said. “There’s still a lot of loyalty to the book and the written word.”
Murray also said the technical problems that could result from e-books such as computer crashes and limited battery power may have deterred buyers so far. Lundy agreed, saying the lack of mobility without a laptop may further hurt sales.
“There’s just something nice about having a book in your hands,” he said.
Even with the disadvantages, Lundy said the increased availability of e-books in the future will also help the bookstore. He said stocking e-books is much simpler and eliminates excess costs of shipping.
“We don’t have to decide on a quantity of e-books to buy,” Lundy said. “We can just print more tags.”
He also said e-books could be offered as an alternative if the store runs out of print
copies of text.
“There’re a lot of advantages to having both as an option,” he said.
Murray said that trying to efficiently order print textbooks is one of the most difficult tasks the bookstore faces each term, and that e-books could eliminate that.
“We don’t have to predict demand, which is completely unpredictable,” she said.
Murray and Lundy both agreed that e-books have a definite future on college campuses, and they can offer a lot of benefits to
students overall.
“Hopefully it will be a positive thing and won’t burden anybody,” Lundy said. “I think it’s actually pretty cool.”
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