Can the Digital Revolution Curb Textbook Costs?

With all the recent recession-driven chatter about whether a bachelor's degree is still worth it, the age-old problem of book fees topping a grand a year isn't helping.

Let's say we accept the presumption that college still holds value, for all those romantic, values-conscious reasons that become harder to accept as gospel in times demanding pragmatism.

Congress'  Higher Education Opportunity Act is now requiring schools to go much further in making textbook costs transparent at the time of registration. But just knowing that Multivariable Calculus is too expensive doesn't do much good when it's critical to Janie's future.

How do we make absorbing Kierkegaard or Kant, applied mathematic or organic chemistry, economically viable for all students?

David Lewis at The Chronicle of Higher Education has a good piece examining the search for new business models, including the rise of textbook rental companies. Even more exciting, he highlights start-ups like Flat World Knowledge that are offering some tomes free on the web, and others for sale in digital formats like MP3 and PDF that drop the cost of paper.

Making these changes on a sweeping scale will take real commitment from colleges, which Lewis says typically leave reading list decisions fully to the whims of often out-of-touch faculty members.

It'll also take a sense of urgency. It's an exciting time for textbooks — augmented reality may be in the not-too-distant future — which means modes of learning will expand exponentially. Means should too. Let's solve this now, not later.

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