Textbooks have evolved and so has the way students use them.
Before, there were only hard copies available and the only way to get them was to buy them. Now, students can rent or buy textbooks used or new, the hardcopy or the electronic version. But the latest step in that evolutionary ladder is a combination of two of those options.
The University of Michigan Press announced a short-term rental option for electronic textbooks in late August. The press offers students the option of renting the e-books for 30 or 180 days for 40 to 75 percent of the price of buying.
NSU students can take advan-tage of this option if the press prints any of the students’ required textbooks and they rent the books directly from the press.
For now, NSU does not rent e-textbooks, but students can buy the electronic version of the book or rent the hard copy at the bookstore. Both options are cheaper than buying the hard copy of the book.
“Since our e-textbooks are able to be purchased either in-store or online, it provides great convenience to the student to pick up their digital textbook, along with the NSU T-shirt they wanted to buy at the same time,” said Nick Fagnoni, NSU bookstore manager. “Or a student could get immediate access with an online purchase — even when the actual bookstore is closed.”
Danielle Quincoses, junior business administration major, used e-textbooks and said she really liked them.
She said, “They’re a lot easier to carry if you already have your laptop and if you purchase them at a certain Web site, you can access them online using a code.”
However, other students said they like the feel of an actual book.
“I like textbooks. I like flipping pages and I buy them used anyways, so they’re cheaper,” said Sarah Jasper, a second-year marine biology graduate student in the Oceanographic Center.
Quincoses agrees that there are negative sides to the electronic versions, but she still prefers them.
“My only complaint is that after a few hours your eyes start to hurt from looking at the screen so long,” she said.
Katherine McInerney, freshman English major has not tried e-books, but said she likes the idea of having to carry fewer textbooks.
“I would prefer electronic books. I think it would be less of a burden and easier to carry, but not every book is available,” said McInerney. “I think they would be cheaper, too, because when you buy books you’re also paying for the fact that they’re published and are hard covers.”
For more information on the University of Michigan press and its textbooks, log on to www.press.umich.edu.
