More recently, however, the federal government has taken an interest in finding why textbook prices have soared over the past 20 years.
As part of this effort, The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, a federal committee chartered by Congress, reported that, according to its yearlong study, "first-time, full-time students spent a total of $898 at four-year public colleges and $886 at two-year public colleges on books and supplies" in 2003-04.
Released in May 2007, findings from the Study on the Affordability of College Textbooks were anything but news to college students, parents who foot the college-book tab, university professors and even textbook authors.
Book Prices Create Financial Woes
Regarding the ever-inflating price of college books, Rometrius "Romy" North, a junior mass communication major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, is just one of many who feels the financial pinch come textbook-purchase time.
"Textbook prices are unreasonably high for students trying to get by and get an education," said North, a first-generation college student, in a recent on-campus interview.
Adding to the aggravation of the inflated book prices, "I also think it's ridiculous when some professors insist that you must have a textbook, but then it's never cracked open during the semester," she continued. "For me, that experience was a waste of the money I already don't have.
"I guess ... I would not mind the (book) prices so much, if I felt like I got quality use from them," noted the 21-year-old North, "but that doesn't always happen."
Book Authors, Students Biggest Losers
Dr. Janet Belsky, a professor of psychology at MTSU and textbook author several times over, said that for years, textbook authors have been pinned with a considerable share of the blame for ever-increasing textbook prices. However, such accusations couldn't be further from the truth,she asserted.
"You can't make money from writing textbooks," observed Belsky, whose latest title, the 550-page Experiencing the Lifespan, was released December 2006 by Freeman & Worth. "Hour by hour, (writing a text pays the author) less than minimum wage, even for a potentially blockbuster, huge-market book."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KQ8tSenWc0
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