We all understand that the prices of textbooks are extremely high. CSUF estimates that the average student should expect to spend $1,656 a year on books and supplies. Unfortunately, the Pollak Library, as a rule, does not purchase the latest editions of textbooks. We might have older editions, donated by faculty or students. Sometimes, professors will put their own copies of a textbook on two-hour reserve, but for the most part, you will not be able to find the textbooks you need at the library.
Everyone involved, from professors to publishers to bookstores know that the expense of textbooks can be a tremendous financial burden, so, for many textbooks, other options are available besides purchasing a print copy of the book.
Semester Rental: Some textbooks are available for rent through The Titan Bookstore. Those books that are not available for rent through the bookstore might be available through other textbook rental services.
Electronic Textbooks: Many textbooks are now available in electronic formats. These E-books are significantly less expensive that the print editions. The Titan Bookstore has a number of textbooks available in electronic format. These books can be read by downloading the free Xplana Ebook Reader to your computer. If your textbook is not available electronically through The Titan Bookstore, try Coursesmart.com, a consortium of leading textbook publishers that make thousands of their books available online in a variety of formats and price structures.
Comparison Shop Online: Many online bookstores sell discounted or used textbooks. You can find a list of these stores, as well as more detailed information about textbooks at the Pollak Library by visiting our guide Textbooks and The Library: Availability and Options.
On a positive note, although we don’t have textbooks, you should be able to find most assigned course readings, whether they are books, articles, or other materials, in the library. If you have any further questions about textbooks, or any other library-related issue, please feel free to contact us anytime by visiting http://www.library.fullerton.edu/asp/askalibrarian.aspx
General News
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The high cost of textbooks is for too many students a real roadblock to the attainment of a college degree. Federal and some state legislative efforts have yet to bear fruit and $200 textbooks are still common. Students can help by engaging their professors in discussions as to the need for purchasing the new edition of a textbook is essential, or whether an older edition may serve for a given class, and should also explore the feasibility of perhaps sharing a textbook with a classmate. Students can also consider alternatives that may not be publicized by publishers or bookstores, such as book rentals, individual chapter downloads and eBook or online textbook options when available–but read the fine print carefully as some of these options are far more expensive than buying a used book and reselling it at the end of the semester. And encourage your professors to consider less costly alternatives; you may be surprised at how many conscientious faculty members simply don’t know the cost of a textbook before they adopt it or review only books forwarded to them by their sales reps.
I sincerely doubt that meaningful relief will come from the traditional publishers whose business model of reliance on armies of sales reps to push textbook sales by direct contact with faculty requires a costly product in order for publishers to make a reasonable profit. Alternatives do exist through non-traditional publishers and even in the form of a few open source textbooks that are truly free and come with no strings attached. Two of my own new textbooks in the areas of business law and the legal environment of business are now available for as little at $9.95 for an online-only version and about $35 for online and print versions (both were previously published by major textbook publishers only in hard-cover editions), so I know it is possible to produce low-cost textbooks without sacrificing quality. But I also know that without armies of sales people to push my books on prospective adopters, it will take a long time before sales with my new publisher will match the sales of my original editions; and my royalties are smaller as well. But it was never about the money for me, and it is seldom about the money for most textbook authors as there are far more professionally and financially rewarding ways to spend one’s time than writing textbooks. We do it for the intangible rewards that are invaluable.
As more colleagues embrace publishing with smaller price-conscious publishers, that will help reshape the old publishing paradigm into a lower-cost model without sacrificing quality. That, at least, is my hope, and I am betting that word of mouth will eventually reach my old loyal adopters and the books will once again slowly find their market. Of course, the few remaining major publishers may simply opt to hold their current course and continue to do business in the way they always have to the detriment of students struggling to pay ever higher amounts for both their tuition and their books.