Yesterday, the Collegian carried an editorial on how the university can help with textbook prices ("University, professors can help students with bookstore blues," Jan. 22). I would like to add one more suggestion: please don't lock us into specific sources.

What do I mean by this? Mainly, "special" editions of books. An example is the Penn State edition of the Thomas and Finney calculus book the math department used for Math 140, Math 141 and Math 230 until this year. Even though the normal version is widely available, the only source for the Penn State edition was probably around town. The result? In addition to paying more up front, the books could not be resold after last semester because the chosen text changed, and of course, bookstores for other universities don't want them.

There are other examples, but the one that stands out the most is the utterly abhorrent practice with regards to the Communication Arts and Sciences 100 textbook. Not only is it a Penn State edition, but it also comes bundled with a subscription to www.coursecompass.com, which is required for the class. They can only be purchased together -- new -- for about $100. What does Course Compass provide that the university's Angel doesn't? As far as I could tell, absolutely nothing. The result? You pay more for a book that you could have gotten used and a subscription to a useless Web site. Wow, sign me up!

Unless the departments are getting kickbacks from the publishers, Web sites and bookstores, I can't think of any good reason for this practice. So, please, use standard textbooks.