Adoption increasing, but still a slow go.
Use of digital textbooks is on the rise at Berry, according to Berry bookstore manager Amelia Haney. This academic year, digital textbook sales were five times higher compared to last year, but that total still represents only 1 percent of the bookstore’s total book sales, she said.
Many students don’t use the bookstore to purchase textbooks at all, so it is not known how many students have purchased digital textbooks this year.
Haney said she thinks sales of digital texts will continue to rise.
“Digital textbooks can be highlighted, you can take notes in the margin and share your notes with other people who have purchased the same book,” Haney said.
Digital texts can also be much cheaper than traditional textbooks, saving students 40-60 percent off the cost of traditional textbooks, Haney said. The converse, however, is that digital textbooks cannot be sold back during the buyback period.
While the use of digital textbooks is on the rise, Berry has no plans to mandate their adoption, according to Andrew Bressette, associate provost and dean of academic services.
“There are not appropriate resources for all disciplines, and the textbook industry still has many obstacles to overcome if digital texts are to become the norm,” he said. “We also do not have a requirement for students to have a laptop or iPad, so it would be hard to ensure all students are able to read the electronic textbooks.”
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Penny Evans-Plant,
Berry’s chief information officer
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Picture not all rosy
Digital textbooks do have some disadvantages, from content not being compatible with all devices to having software glitches.
“Some people still really like paper, and they like being able to highlight in a book,” said Penny Evans-Plants, Berry’s chief information officer. Even with an iPad or Kindle, some are not as comfortable reading with a device as with a traditional book, she said.
Another disadvantage of digital textbooks is the ease of theft.
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Kevin Kleine, lecturer of journalism
and advisor to the Campus Carrier.
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“It is increasingly easy to steal the intellectual content of the digital book and get access to it over the Internet,” said Kevin Kleine, lecturer of journalism and advisor to the Campus Carrier.