Still, other students—the number wasn’t included in the NACS survey results—said the convenience of electronic books and eReaders could wean them off of traditional books, which can become back-achingly heavy during a cross-campus trek.
“Some stated that they would like to have all of their required materials in one place for easier access,” the survey said. “Others believed they would purchase digital textbooks if the print version were too large or bulky to carry.”
Students responding to the NACS survey said they would only purchase an eBook if their professor required it, or if the traditional textbook wasn’t available for purchase.
The survey added: “Some students said that they would also be more willing to purchase digital if allowed to use their laptops in class, or if the university provided them with a free laptop.”
Requiring eBook purchases could make Florida’s Daytona State College a leader among institutions hoping to lead the way in electronic book adoption. The 35,000-student college has been moving toward a “100 percent” eBook campus since 2009, using electronic texts in English, computer science, and economics courses so far.
Daytona’s eBook initiative would allow students to buy electronic books for about $20 apiece, and the books would be accessible on any web-enabled eReader, college officials said.
Daytona would make affordable eReader devices available to students, or students could read their electronic books on one of the thousands of on-campus computers—a move that could quell student concerns about the price of eReaders, as mentioned several times in the NACS survey.
Officials want to reduce annual textbook costs—now around $1,100—by 50 to 80 percent, even after the purchase of an eReader device like the iPad.
A study conducted by the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)—an organization lobbying for lower textbook prices, among other higher-education issues—shows that students are at least willing to try electronic textbook reading.
Forty percent of student respondents said they were “somewhat familiar” with the Kindle and other eReaders on the market and said they were “likely” or “very likely” to buy an eReader.
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