Digital textbooks debut for some courses at MU

Digital textbooks debut for some courses at MU

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In some University of Missouri classes, the big, expensive college textbook is no longer necessary. Students instead can buy and download a digital version of the textbook, which allows them to do such things as run a search for a keyword or have instant-message conversations with professors or teaching assistants. The digital books also give students electronic access to study guides developed by students using the same digital textbook as well as its Internet-based supplemental materials and discussion boards. With the rising costs of printed books and advances in technology, digital texts are likely to be the next big thing in course materials for students, MU Bookstore spokeswoman Michelle Froese said.

-- From staff and wire reports

The MU Bookstore started selling some digital texts for a wide variety of courses for the fall semester. The digital books, called Jumpbooks, are created by the Nebraska Book Co., Froese said.

Sue Riedman, vice president of corporate communications for the Nebraska Book Co., said the publisher partnered in April with CourseSmart -- a clearinghouse for digital college texts -- to offer more than 4,000 titles to bookstores.

To use a digital textbook, students buy a registration code at the bookstore and download the digital books from the Jumpbooks Web site, she said.

About 80 of the 400 digital texts the bookstore sold at the beginning of the fall semester were returned unused, said Paul Musket, associate director of academic resources for University Bookstores.

The supply is still small -- only a minuscule part of the more than 150,000 new and used textbooks the bookstore sold this fall, Froese said.

While a small number of students bought the digital textbooks, the cost might eventually make them more attractive.

For example, a new copy of "Biology: Science for Life with Physiology," a textbook used in some introductory biology classes this semester, costs $117.40, with the used copy costing $88.05 at the bookstore. The digital version of the textbook available through CourseSmart costs $58.70.

But some students still see the advantages of the paper copy of the textbook.

Many "still prefer to purchase a hard copy of the textbook so that they have it in their hand, can flip through the pages and take it anywhere to study," Reidman said.

And students can often save money by reselling a printed textbook, while the digital versions cannot be resold.

But Froese said student interest in digital textbooks will likely increase as technology advances and students and professors become more familiar with benefits of digital texts.

"When I was in school, I brought a digital typewriter," she said. "Now 98 percent of students come into college with a computer."

------

Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com