10 Textbook Trends Transforming the Industry
September 18, 2011
From grade school to grad school, textbooks are a must for students who want to gain the full educational experience available. Yet the cost can be prohibitive, and many cash-strapped college kids may have to choose between buying books and buying their next meal. This isn't how things have to be, however. An increasing number of schools and publishers provide students with alternative, low-cost ways to acquire their textbooks.
Many current trends already majorly impact colleges around the nation, and will likely go from being the exception to the norm over the next decade. Whether you're a student looking to save on books, a professor trying to respect their financial limitations or a book publisher trying to keep up with the changing market, these trends are something you need watch.
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A growing number of schools are switching to digital textbooks.
Many students will be heading back to school this year with a lighter backpack and a heavier wallet thanks to digital textbooks. Colleges, retailers and publishing companies are making the switch, as devices like the Nook, Kindle and iPad grow increasingly popular on campus. This fall, over 7,000 titles will be available to students as e-books — a number that doesn't include works of literature or non-fiction often used in courses. While the majority of students still prefer traditional textbooks, the trend could change soon, with rising costs and a wider selection of available e-reader devices.
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Students now often rent instead of buy books.
With the average student spending over $1,000 a school year on books, college kids are looking for ways to save big. One way many are doing so involves renting instead of buying. Loaner books can cost 60% to 80% less than a new one, meaning big savings that often can't be matched — even when rolling used. For students who don't need to keep their books from year to year, this can be an amazing deal. Sites like Chegg, eFollett and BookRenter are making it simple for students to order books online and have them waiting at their doorstep before classes start.
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Many states and schools are considering regulations to help control textbook costs.
In some parts of the country, textbook prices have risen as much as 22% in the past few years alone. With new editions being put out every few years, students can't sell back used books and make back any of their investment. Many schools are fighting back, believing that affordable textbooks should be available for all enrollees. In Texas, House Bill 33 was introduced mandating that universities provide students with information on their required texts at least one month before classes begin and assistance locating the best prices. Other institutions, like Marshall University, have formed committees on textbook affordability to help state and school develop better policies. These laws and programs may just push publishers into providing cheaper options for students unable to afford new textbooks each semester.
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Retail apps for textbooks are seeing huge sales this school year.
With a large portion of college students coming to campus with smartphone in hand, it only makes sense that many are using them not only to text and make calls, but order books as well. Take the app Kno, for instance. It was the number one back-to-school download for the iPad, and provides students with access to over 100,000 digital textbooks. Traditional book retailers are also doing well over smartphones and mobile tools, with apps for Amazon, Chegg and Half.com also popular. When students are done with textbooks, they can easily get the best prices for selling them online, using tools like the BookScouter app.
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Comparison shopping for books online has become the norm.
Long gone are the days of students only being able to buy whatever books the college bookstores made available. Now, the majority of students do bargain shopping online before deciding where to purchase their texts. Sites like SwoopThat, BookBurro and BigWords can help students easily find the best deals on any required materials for class — usually with very little effort involved. While sometimes the best deals will be found through college bookstores, students these days have a lot of options when shopping. They may find used books more cheaply on the internet, driving up the popularity the online textbook industry — as well as sites making it simple to bargain hunt through multiple stores.
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Digital textbooks pose new piracy problems for publishers.
Prior to the digital age, it was pretty hard to pirate textbooks. Today, however, many publishers are struggling to keep pirates from sharing their copyrighted material online. Textbook pirates operate by making digital scans, and then posting them online for students — sometimes completely gratis. One of the sites, LibraryPirate, hosts over 1,700 illegally copied textbooks to date. Some think these will force publishers to lower the costs of electronic textbooks, so students feel more motivated to download them legitimately instead of stealing.
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An increasing number of students will purchase an e-reader or be given one by their college this year.
Whether students go for the popular Kindle or a more multi-purpose gadget like the iPad, e-reader devices are hot items on campuses this year. Some campuses are even giving them out to incoming freshmen. However students come by them, they're rapidly growing in popularity, and may be a major reason e-books and e-textbooks are considered such attractive alternatives. With e-readers unlikely to go away anytime soon, more and more textbook publishers may be looking for ways to go digital.
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Free and open textbooks are gaining ground as prices skyrocket.
Students looking for an alternative to traditional textbook retailers might want to check out the increasingly popular Flat World Knowledge. The company offers students the option to buy an all-access pass for texts, so they can use them in any format they'd like. And, in addition, get access to the company's study guides and printable materials. The license to use these materials never expires. So as long as students need the books, they can use them. The company is also looking into institutional licenses, which would allow professors to provide all enrollees with access to a digital text — at a much lower cost! This model has been successful so far, and with the growing popularity of online textbooks, it could see major growth over the next few years. It's entirely likely they'll spark some copycats who may just give them competition.
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Teachers and professors are using alternatives to pricey textbooks.
Many professors don't want to put undue financial stress on students, so they're looking for alternatives to textbooks. Some, like Jeremy Short, a business professor at Oklahoma U, are using graphic novels and comic books as a low-cost alternative. With many educational titles out there, Short feels like there are a lot of options. They not only save money, but make sometimes dull course material more interesting. He's also started his own graphic novel business, writing his own and collaborating with other faculty members to create titles retailing for about $20. Short is just one of a growing number looking outside of the box when it comes to assigning low-cost, equally viable reading material.
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Digital textbooks are being integrated with other software.
Textbooks these days aren't just for reading. While many traditional textbooks come with software, digital texts are taking it to the next level, allowing students to highlight, take notes and even study with their peers. Digital publisher Inkling announced a social aspect to their books this year, allowing students to rate and review books and share their notes and information with others in the class. This is in addition to existing content offering students built-in tests, videos and 3D images.
Perhaps one of the best-known of the classical dramas, Aristotle used Oedipus Rex as an example of perfectly orchestrated tragedy in his work Poetics (also a great read). First performed in 429 BCE, it was the second of Sophocles' Theban plays to be produced, and follows a cursed family who tries in vain to escape their fate. The main character of the tale is, naturally, Oedipus, whose own father orders him executed, believing the young child will kill him. He is rescued after being left to die in a field and raised by another royal family as their own. Told by an oracle that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus flees home, only to end up encountering his true parents who abandoned him long ago. With disastrous results, of course! Acclaimed since it was first performed, the play is a must-read for any student and will put the Oedipus Complex's true meaning in context.
Not a single play, but rather a trilogy (though it should have been four — one has been lost to history) of tragedies, The Oresteia follow another cursed family, the House of Atreus. This series is the only surviving example of a trilogy in Greek drama, and took first prize in the Dionysia festival when it was first performed in 458 BCE. The first, Agamemnon, follows the King of Argos as he returns home to an adulterous wife intent on murdering him for sacrificing their daughter. The second, The Libation Bearers, continues the story, with Agamemnon's children Electra and Orestes uniting to avenge the death of their father by taking revenge on their mother. The final installation is called The Eumenides and concerns the legal backlash all of these killings have, with Orestes receiving punishment for his crimes. Filled with love-hate relationships, murder, intrigue and drama, the plays are just as engaging as any modern-day soap opera.
While it is unclear who wrote this play, it has traditionally been attributed to Aeschylus. Regardless of who is the true author, the drama is a great read for students who want to improve their knowledge of Greek texts. Another classic tragedy, the story is based in the myth of Prometheus, a Titan who was punished by Zeus for giving mankind fire. This involves being chained to a rock and having an eagle eat his liver every day, only to have it grow back and experience the entire ritual again, ad infinitum. The play follows not only his punishment, but the wrath of Zeus as well, and is an excellent introduction to Greek mythology in all its violent and sexually-charged glory.
More than likely originally a part of a trilogy starting with Oedipus Rex, Antigone, the third installment of this tale, focuses on the eponymous daughter of the doomed Oedipus and his mother Jocasta. In the preceding play, Seven Against Thebes (also worth reading), two brothers fight each other for the throne, with one dying and the other demanding that he be left to rot and eaten by animals on the battlefield — the harshest punishment at the time. Antigone mourns for her fallen brother and sets out to bury him, facing the death penalty for her actions if she is caught. And, of course, she is. Death, violence and punishment by the gods follow, as is appropriate and expected for any Greek tragedy. Ultimately a morality tale against pride, the play is not only an essential read for wrapping up the Oedipus story, but its own merits as well.
Like many other Greek tragedies, this play focuses on betrayal and revenge. This time, the main characters are Medea and her husband Jason (who is perhaps known for the Argonauts mythology, his slaying of the monster Medusa and capture of the golden fleece). The play begins with Medea grieving and raging, as her husband has left her for another woman, though he has promised to keep her as a mistress (so noble). She gets her revenge, but the plot leaves you wondering who the bad guy in the tale is really. Held up by many as being an early feminist text, the play explores many different issues that are just as relevant today as when it was written, including love, passion, vengeance, justice, racism and misogyny.
Even the Greeks loved a good romantic tale, though this particular one might be a bit troubling for modern day audiences. The titular character Alcestis' father has promised her to any man who can yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot. With the help of Apollo, Admetus manages to accomplish this feat and is allowed to marry her. But in his joy, the victor fails to pay appropriate homage to Artemis, and she fills his bed with snakes. Apollo intervenes, and Admetus is allowed to live if he can find someone to step in and take his place in Hades. None are willing to make the sacrifice, save his new wife. She dies in his place, with the wish that he not remarry or engage in any merrymaking after her death. Forced to entertain the visiting Hercules, Admetus must break one of these promises, but it may be for the best. Called the "problem play", this work differs from the typical tragic formula, employing comedic elements as well.
Yet another ancient tragedy (the Greeks were quite fond of them, it seems), this play is notable for being the oldest surviving example of the medium in the history of theatre — and the only surviving tragedy to focus on contemporary events! As the name might suggest, the tale's main focus is the Persian Empire, more specifically Xerxes' response to news that the military defeat at the Battle of Salamis — a decisive battle in the Greco-Persian Wars. It is worth reading because it can be considered both sympathetic to the Persians and a celebration of Greek victory — depending on how you read it — and, of course, for its unique place in the history of drama.
Written in the 5th century BCE, this tragic play chronicles the life of the warrior Ajax after the events in Homer's Iliad, but before the Trojan War ended. At the outset of the play, the eponymous protagonist is enraged because the fallen Achilles' armor has been awarded to Odysseus rather than him. Bitter, he decides to get revenge on the Greek leaders he believes shamed him. To add insult to injury, he is tricked by the goddess Athena and thinks he is now even more of a laughingstock. Despondent, he takes matters into his own hands in a tragic resolution.
Perhaps one of the first works of literary criticism ever created, The Frogs pokes fun at the giants of Greek playwriting, Euripedes and Aeschylus. A comedy rather than the typical tragedy, the work pits the two writers against one another in an imagined battle to see who is the best tragic poet, with Dionysus serving as judge. It's not all fluff of course, and some serious political commentary lurks behind this fictional battle of wits, with Aristophanes focusing on real solutions to current Athenian events occurring at the time the play was first produced. While it is a great read, students should peruse a quick summary of Peloponnesian Wars to get a better framework. Those who want a slightly more updated version of the tale should check out the musical of the same name produced by Steven Sondheim, which pits William Shakespeare against George Bernard Shaw.
Also focusing on the Peloponnesian War, this comedy is not only entertaining, but exposes some of the sexual politics in ancient Greece's heavily patriarchal society. The story revolves around Lysistrata, a woman who calls for women across the empire to withhold sexual gratification from their husbands until they find a way to negotiate peace in the ongoing war. Her ploy, however silly it may sound, actually works. While today it is often held up as a feminist work, in reality Aristophanes stereotypes and belittles the women in the story, even if he lets Lysistrata triumph in the end.