Book prices put some in a bind

In addition to the cost of out-of-state tuition, not to mention the price of travel from State College to Maine, Dave Romilly has found another hidden college cost -- the price of textbooks -- particularly new ones.

For a chemistry class last semester, Romilly (freshman-environmental engineering) found he had to purchase the new textbook because the publisher had released a new edition. Normally, he, like most students, buys used textbooks because of the costs, he said.

"I don't feel like spending $80 (on a new textbook), when you can buy it used for $25," said Julia Amick (junior-animal bioscience).

About 65 percent of textbook sales at the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., are in used books, said Norm Brown, general manager of the store. Brown, who has worked in college bookstores for 18 years, said more students are purchasing used books to save money.

But bookstores cannot sell used books when the professor requires a new edition of the book. Publishers update textbooks more frequently than in the past, Brown said, and professors tend to change with the publishers.

Not only has this driven up the costs of books, but when editions change, students cannot sell the books back, said Jaime Bertagna (senior-human development and family studies).

Far from being the conspiracy among publishers and professors that some students think exists, professors are often forced to change. When editions change, the old editions are no longer distributed, said Richard Robinett, associate professor of physics.

If possible, he encourages students to buy used books, but he said new editions make the old texts irrelevant.

For lower-level physics classes, the introductory course committee, which selects the books, tries to avoid using new books unless the old edition will be discontinued, said Jim Whitmore, professor of physics who chairs the committee.

"We've only selected books when we're forced to," he said. "I sympathize with the students."

Because of his major, Romilly expects this will not be the last time he will have to pay more for a new edition.

"When somebody writes an English book, it stays the same. But science books change all the time," he said. "I can see it's going to be a problem in the future."

But people studying liberal arts are not immune from changing editions. Stephen Belcher, an assistant professor of comparative literature, said he has had to require new editions for his class because, as with science books, the old edition will no longer be available.

Often, the changes to the text are so minor that the only change Belcher must make to his syllabus is the page numbers.

To be considered a new edition, more than 20 percent of the book must be changed, said Susan Spilka, director of corporate communications of John Wiley & Sons Inc. Textbooks are updated because of faculty demand and competition from other publishers, she said.

"Ultimately, the students benefit each time there is a revision," she said.

Even if they recognize the benefits, not all students think those outweigh the costs.

"I think it's great that the University is keeping its students updated with newer texts," said Eric McGinnis (senior-management and political science), "but it's unfortunate that we have to pay $80 for a book that we will use for four months."