TO: Campus Bookstore

FROM: Kyle Biggins

DATE: 8/10/14
RE: Textbook Proposal

Purpose:
I propose that the campus bookstore considers alternative options for textbook purchases. A
recent survey has shown that students from several different universities are becoming more
aggravated by the rise in textbooks pricing. According to the Government Accountability Office,
college textbook prices have risen at twice the inflation rate since the 1980s, averaging 6% per
year. The survey also showed that students make every attempt to save on textbooks. Whether
its renting online or simply not buying the book for class, the students have decided not to
purchase from the campus bookstore. This is why I propose that you approve research of other
textbook purchasing options.

The pricing of textbooks has caused a great deal of stress and frustration amongst all who are
forced to buy them. For most classes, the textbook is a required purchase for the course. The
increase in pricing is baffling.
Recommendation:
There have been several innovative ways that universities have tried to combat the ever rising
costs of textbooks. One of the easiest and cost-effective ways is to make e-books a common
textbook purchase. Steve Jobs said that the textbook industry was ripe for digital destruction.
Instead of more than $200 for a used textbook at the bookstore, you can pay $80 for the digital
copy. Instead of stumbling through pages and carrying around 4 books, you have one device with
everything on it and easy access. The bookstore should support this by encouraging instructors to
choose books that have an e-book available. The bookstore could also sell iPads, Kindles, or
Nooks. This will lead to less paper textbooks in storage, and less maintenance. According to the
Huffington Post, a survey released last year by the Pearson Foundation found that 63 percent of
college students and 69 percent of high school students believe that traditional textbooks will be
phased out in the next five years. However, only 42% of students in my survey had used an e-
book before. They need to be better informed of the option to use e-books. There is a bipartisan
bill attempting to lower text book pricing Called the E-BOOK Act (Electronic Books Opening
Opportunity for Knowledge), the bill will establish up to 10 pilot programs at public institutions
throughout the country to increase access to digital course materials, expand the availability of e-
readers and tablets for low-income students, and encourage professors to incorporate new
learning technologies into their classes. I believe our university can, not only keep up, but can
help pioneer the wide usage of e-books in our classrooms.
Case Study:
Jeffrey Kissinger of North Florida University did a collective study of e-book and mobile device
learning. This study was designed to learn how the students learned with the e-books and how
they interacted with the e-books. This study was comprised of a variety of students to help
provide more insight into the world of e-books. These were the results of their study:
Students were found to be competent with the e-books, confident, metacognitive, and
desirous of more social learning opportunities within their e-books. By addressing the
primary research question and the subquestions, six major conclusions were reached.
These were: (a) students expressed competence in their use of the mobile e-books, (b)
students expressed feelings of high self-efficacy when using the mobile e-books, (c)
students overall valued the use of the e-book for their learning, (d) students were
individualized and metacognitive in their learning with the mobile e-books, (e) students
enhanced their learning socially and within situated learning opportunities, and (f) the
students and the instructor had divergent views on the value and utility of social,
interactive textbooks.
Overall, this study shows that students are comfortable with using e-books in the classroom and
are confident in their abilities to use them. This study shows that students are ready for this, and
not just for the pricing. The convenience that these bring should not be understated. The only
worrisome part of this study is the divergent feelings of the instructors compared to the students.
I think that this is because of a failure to understand e-books from the instructors. The instructor
can continue to use their print textbook while the students use a cheaper, lighter, and more
convenient study tool.
Time Table:
The time table of implementation will be varied. It shouldnt take long to encourage the
textbooks be bought in e-book form, and to confirm that the textbooks chosen have an electronic
version. However, the full implementation of e-books for instructors and all students could take
years of gradual increments. This may seem long, but the support for this movement will be large
and motivated.
Conclusion:
Encouraging the use of e-books would decrease costs in maintaining a busy bookstore, while still
allowing profit from sales. This will also help all students focus more on their education and less
on the financial burden college often represents. I think it is the universitys responsibility to
provide the most up to date and affordable study tools. In my study, 65% of students said they
have decided not to purchase a textbook for their course because it was too expensive. This
cannot happen in higher education. The purpose of college is to educate, not to bankrupt.