New bill unlikely to put change into students' pockets
By: Jozlynn Rush
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News
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Even with the College Textbook Transparency Act in effect, textbooks aren't expected to be any cheaper this semester.
The College Textbook Transparency Act, a bill aimed at lowering textbook costs for students, was signed in October by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and went partially into effect Jan. 1.
"With the new bill in effect so recently, there is no chance of it lowering textbook prices," said Steve Dubey, director of the A.S. Bookstore.
The first part of the bill requires campus bookstores to post their pricing policies online or in stores and also prohibits campus bookstores from selling complimentary or teacher editions, Dubey said.
The second part requires publishers to compile a summary of the changes made between editions and that publishers make a list of prices and edition changes for faculty. It goes into effect in 2010, Dubey said.
But junior Catherine Foerster doesn't think the bill will help much.
"Textbook prices have always been high, and it's something I expect with college expenses," she said.
An increase in the costs of paper, ink, transportation and labor has caused the price of textbooks to rise, Dubey said. Also, with students finding alternatives to buying new books, publishers are forced to raise the prices of books to be able to cover overall costs.
"Publishers are for-profit companies, and are in the business of making money from their products," Dubey said.
There are alternate means of getting textbooks available. Uloop.com, an online marketplace for college students, provides students with an online bulletin board to buy and sell textbooks at lower prices.
Junior Ashley Dever is one of many students who use Web sites such as Uloop.com.
"I have always bought my books from the bookstore on campus, however, this year I'm going to try and buy them online to save money," Dever said.
After checking prices at the A.S. Bookstore, she noticed books were cheaper online, she said.
Other sites such as Chegg.com and Half.com provide used and new reading material for less than what students may pay at their school's bookstore.
Sophomore Megan Alley spends hundreds of dollars each semester on books she buys at the A.S. Bookstore.
"I think it's way too much money to be spending on something we use for one semester and then disregard," Alley said.
But because of convenience, Alley bought her books on campus this semester, instead of getting them online.
Jozlynn Rush can be reached at
jrush@theorion.com
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