As the textbook buyer for the University of Colorado at Boulder Book Store, Jason Katzman has seen competition to paperbound textbooks before, and after 17 years in the industry he says paper still rules, at least for now.
Last fall the CU Book Store on campus started carrying a limited number of electronic textbooks, or e-textbooks, a new product being offered nationally on college campuses.
As technology changes the way information is delivered and received, the textbook industry believes students may be ready to ditch the heavy, cumbersome textbook for a digital version they can download to their laptops. Not so fast, says Katzman.
"Books have been around for a very, very long time and they're not going to go away any time soon," Katzman said. "The thing that we are seeing more of is software included with textbooks to enhance the student's learning experience."
E-textbooks are generally marketed as more convenient and cheaper than their paper cousins, which Katzman says is true to a point.
Compared with used and new paperbound texts, electronic textbooks are 20 percent to 40 percent less expensive. However, the net cost is much closer to that of paper books if students are able to sell their paper books back to a bookstore, Katzman said.
"So many factors limit our ability to buy a book back that I would say the e-textbook is a way to guarantee a limited cost," Katzman said. "For a student on a budget, this might be a good thing since there's no guarantee we will buy their book back or that it won't go into a new edition and be worthless at the end of the semester."
Â鶹ÒùÔº purchasing e-textbooks at the bookstore receive a receipt with a password and an address of a Web site where the book is downloaded to their computer. If the e-textbook concept takes off, students could potentially download all of their books to a single laptop. For the environmentally conscious student, this also would mean a major reduction in their personal paper use.
Currently, the bookstore is still in a testing phase, offering 10 e-textbook titles this spring. The store has sold slightly more than 20 of the books since they were introduced in fall 2006 compared with tens of thousands of paperbound books sold each semester, according to Katzman.
"Â鶹ÒùÔº by and large do not seem interested in the technology, but that doesn't mean they'll never be interested," he said. "It's the bookstore's responsibility to offer students the least expensive options available and to offer them as many choices as possible."
For now, Katzman said it's important for the bookstore to know what e-textbooks are, how they work and what their potential weaknesses may be.
In the long run, student demand will determine whether e-textbooks become a staple in the lives of college students or just another bit of history, he said.
"Being a leader in the industry sometimes means walking a few dogs, but we're completely committed to meeting student needs, both current and potential," he said.
The CU Book Store plans to stock about 10 e-textbook titles once again for the fall 2007 semester, Katzman said.