Campus angered by book publisher prices

When classes begin next fall, most students look forward to reuniting with friends, learning new ideas and getting back into the flow of another academic year. One thing most students do not enjoy about returning from the three-month exodus from Bloomington is the trip to the IU Bookstore or T.I.S. to purchase their textbooks for the upcoming semester.\nThe Indiana Student Public Interest Research Group has joined with other student Public Interest Research Groups from around the country to protest the rising costs of textbooks and the release of new editions of current textbooks. INPIRG believes that the textbook industries are using unfair tactics to get money from students each year.\nMany students like freshman Bill Susott feel the burn each semester caused by increasing textbook prices.\n"I don't like paying for textbooks each semester," said Susott. "If you take a full load of classes, the books can cost quite a lot of money."\nPIRGs recently released a report, titled "Ripoff 101," documenting the costs of college textbooks. In this report, the PIRGs argue that textbook prices are increasing at an incredible rate; that new editions of textbooks are costly and limit the availability of used books; that bundling other products such as CD-ROMs with textbooks drives up textbook prices; and that textbook publishers charge more to American students than students abroad.\n"These gimmicks publishers use to put out new editions of textbooks are costing kids money," said PIRG National Student Director Dave Rosenfeld. "Our goal is to get fair prices for students."\n"Ripoff 101" quotes the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to which, the wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994. Prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent during that same time. The report also found that 76 percent of faculty surveyed said new editions were actually beneficial less than half the time. In the opinion of the PIRGs, the publishers are taking advantage of college students across the nation.\n"(The publishers) cannot argue with a straight face that these new editions provide any new content to the old textbooks," Rosenfeld said.\nThe report points out that mathematics and science are the subjects in which textbook companies try to release more editions. Professors from universities across the nation have joined the fight to lower textbook prices since the release of "Ripoff 101." On April 6, 700 mathematics and science professors wrote a letter to Thomson Learning with their concerns about high textbook prices and the introduction of new editions, including IU mathematics professor Kevin Pilgrim.\nIn response to the professors, Thomson Learning responded with a letter of its own. The letter stated its popular mathematics book Stewart's "Calculus," which is one of the main targets of "Ripoff 101," was one of the cheapest calculus books on the market; that the new editions included 25 percent new problems, which were requested by professors; and that most students use Stewart's "Calculus" for an average of three semesters, which makes the book much cheaper per semester.\nThe letter goes on to refute other arguments made in "Ripoff 101." The company argues that the report was based on small and skewed samples of the college student population, using more mathematics and science students and only using a very small overall number of students to conduct the survey. The letter also quotes statistics from the College Board and the independent research firm Student Monitor about the rate of textbook price increase, which contradicts the figures reported in "Ripoff 101."\n"Unfortunately, both the letter and the report on which it is based contain many incorrect and misleading statements," said Thomson Learning CEO Ronald Dunn in the letter. "At Thomson Learning, we believe that our textbooks are among the finest in the world, and that our pricing practices are fair and reasonable."\nINPIRG is a student-lead organization that fights for various causes, including the environment, ending poverty, increasing financial aid for students and lowering textbook prices to make college more affordable for students. It is a member of student PIRGs.\nThe battle over textbook pricing is one that is just beginning. For INPIRG and other student PIRGs across the country, it's one battle they aren't going to retreat from.\n"Getting professors aware of this issue has really helped our cause," Rosenfeld said. "We are going to get the textbook companies to listen to us."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Chris Engel at ccengel@indiana.edu.