Digital Age Hits College Books

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The old-fashioned, paper-bound textbooks lining the shelves at college bookstores are facing some new competition --- electronic textbooks.

Over the past couple of years e-textbooks have nudged their way into the marketplace. Students can download these books to personal computers, smart phones or reading devices, like Amazon.com's Kindle or Sony's Reader Digital Book.

CourseSmart --- a venture from about a dozen textbook publishers --- is one of the largest electronic providers with more than 7,000 titles.

The digital version matches the print version and students using the e-version also can highlight, search, take notes and copy and paste the material, said Frank Lyman, executive vice president of marketing.

"Our focus is providing another choice for students," Lyman said.

The company sells its products to students on about 5,800 campuses, with purchasers from Georgia State University and the University of Georgia being among the top 50.

According to the National Association of College Stores, e-books make up about 2 percent of textbook sales when the option is available.

About 5 percent of the nearly 500 textbooks sold at Agnes Scott College in Decatur bookstore are available in electronic format. They cost about 45 percent to 60 percent less than print books, said Monique Nerestan, the bookstore manager.

"This is not the only choice, but it's a good choice when you consider most students are always on their computers anyway," said Nerestan, who has a rising sophomore at the college.

The challenge becomes making students aware of an electronic option, said Maggie Heatley, manager of the bookstore at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville. She estimated between 50 to 80 of the store's 300 books are offered in an electronic format.

Ethan Landress, a rising sophomore at the Georgia Institute of Technology, hasn't used electronic textbooks but likes the idea of saving money.

College students spend an estimated $4,000 on textbooks over four years, according to several national studies.

"I won't get to sell a book back at the end of the semester but you don't make that much money that way anyway," Landress said. "We already do so much stuff on our laptops anyway I don't think this would be that big a deal."

Incoming Georgia Tech freshmen taking two introductory English courses will be using an electronic textbook professors and instructors designed with a publishing company.

The book pulls material from eight different textbooks, said Andrew Cooper, an instructor and communication program coordinator in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture. The digital version includes video and allows students to cross-reference research on the Internet, he said.

Students would spend a couple of hundred dollars to purchase print versions of the texts, but the electronic product will cost about $67 if purchased from the publisher, Cooper said.

Cost prompted Art Bowling, a professor at Agnes Scott, to use an electronic version of a physics textbook. The hardcopy normally costs $108, but the publisher told Bowling an e-book was available for just $10. Students who want a print copy can purchase one at a discount, he said.

"I still like good old paper books, but a kid might not," Bowling said. "I'm really interested to see what they think about it."

Northwest Missouri State University experimented with electronic textbooks last year. The college rents textbooks to students and provides laptops.

Last fall the college gave students Sony Readers with downloaded e-books. Students didn't like that they couldn't highlight or take notes with the devices, said Roger Von Holzen, director of the Center for Information Technology in Education. In the spring the college switched to e-textbooks students could use on their laptops, he said.

"The students were hesitant because they're used to the print books," Von Holzen said. "A lot of titles still aren't available, but this is the direction we're all heading."

Companies are still fine-tuning their products.

Amazon.com is conducting a pilot program where students download textbooks to a revamped Kindle. The participating schools are: Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Pace University, Princeton University, Reed College and the University of Virginia.

It will be years before students can get all their books in an electronic format, said Richard McDaniel, president of the Collegiate Retail Alliance, a group representing 52 independent college bookstores.

The group is working with CourseSmart and CafeScribe, another digital textbook provider. CafeScribe has a social networking component that lets students share notes and form study groups.

"You've got to be brain-dead to not see where this is headed," McDaniel said. "This is not the end game. This is a stop to the final destination."

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Copyright 2009 by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution