"Economists report that a college education adds many thousands of dollars to a man's lifetime income
...which he then spends sending his son to college." [Bill Vaughan]
Everyone knows about how tuitions have increased at multiples of the inflation rates over the years, and many know about significant increases through the myriad of "hidden fees," but what about the cost of books? Even modest paperback texts are now hitting upwards of $150. That's just plain nuts, and a lot of us are not going to order these texts anymore. Yes, I am well aware of the economics, the short runs, the 9 turns per book, the dwindling margins, the costs of the bells and whistles, the competition and mergers, etc. But do we need a new edition for almost anything outside of the most rapidly changing disciplines every three years (or less!)? Do we need 800 page tomes? The focus groups say that instructors supposedly want all the supplements, four-color glossies, shrink-wrapped "extras," etc. I doubt it, as most are happy with a strong-content text and maybe a test bank, if that. The only ones who need an instructor's manual, for instance, are the ones that shouldn't be instructors. (Some people say "just give me a book and manual and I can teach anything." No you can't.) It might be different if the supplements were really good, but they rarely are even marginally useful. (What value is added by PowerPoints that are just rehashes of the text, for example?)
OK, so publishers can read the tea leaves and are trying desperately to respond. They try to offer cheaper alternatives, but they are failing, especially since "non-profit" bookstores are anything but by operating as profit centers. Students at this point are not ready for online editions, and instructors aren't ready to "construct" texts via a-la-carte chapters. So I guess the publishers will continue to offer the escalating and outrageously-priced texts as many professors hold their noses, with dwindling demand pressuring higher supply prices. For the increasingly price-sensitive markets they continue to feebly attempt to strip down texts as best they can but still allow the Atomic Dogs of the world to enter and take share.
It is clear that publishers need new business models to succeed. Perhaps they should work with Apple to create an "iBook."
Everyone knows about how tuitions have increased at multiples of the inflation rates over the years, and many know about significant increases through the myriad of "hidden fees," but what about the cost of books? Even modest paperback texts are now hitting upwards of $150. That's just plain nuts, and a lot of us are not going to order these texts anymore. Yes, I am well aware of the economics, the short runs, the 9 turns per book, the dwindling margins, the costs of the bells and whistles, the competition and mergers, etc. But do we need a new edition for almost anything outside of the most rapidly changing disciplines every three years (or less!)? Do we need 800 page tomes? The focus groups say that instructors supposedly want all the supplements, four-color glossies, shrink-wrapped "extras," etc. I doubt it, as most are happy with a strong-content text and maybe a test bank, if that. The only ones who need an instructor's manual, for instance, are the ones that shouldn't be instructors. (Some people say "just give me a book and manual and I can teach anything." No you can't.) It might be different if the supplements were really good, but they rarely are even marginally useful. (What value is added by PowerPoints that are just rehashes of the text, for example?)
OK, so publishers can read the tea leaves and are trying desperately to respond. They try to offer cheaper alternatives, but they are failing, especially since "non-profit" bookstores are anything but by operating as profit centers. Students at this point are not ready for online editions, and instructors aren't ready to "construct" texts via a-la-carte chapters. So I guess the publishers will continue to offer the escalating and outrageously-priced texts as many professors hold their noses, with dwindling demand pressuring higher supply prices. For the increasingly price-sensitive markets they continue to feebly attempt to strip down texts as best they can but still allow the Atomic Dogs of the world to enter and take share.
It is clear that publishers need new business models to succeed. Perhaps they should work with Apple to create an "iBook."
posted by Dead Man Blogging at
10:58 PM
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