What is a Pencil Worth?

Milton Friedman on the value of a pencil.

Textbooks Cost Too Much

Granted, some subjects are undergoing rapid change, but how about Calculus? The introductory subject matter has probably not changed much for a few hundred years. And yet, the most commonly used textbooks cost about $200. It's a completely ridiculous situation. Especially when terrific, readily available, low-cost alternatives exist. For example:

• The Calculus Lifesaver by Adrian Banner ($16.74)

Need more problems?

• The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems by W. Michael Kelley ($13.57)

And that's just for starters. Five minutes of searching will get you half a dozen alternatives.

Why Pay for Intro Textbooks? - Mitch Smith

If ramen noodle sales spike at the start of every semester, here’s one possible reason: textbooks can cost as much as a class itself; materials for an introductory physics course can easily top $300.

Cost-conscious students can of course save money with used or online books and recoup some of their cash come buyback time. Still, it’s a steep price for most 18-year-olds.

But soon, introductory physics texts will have a new competitor, developed at Rice University. A free online physics book, peer-reviewed and designed to compete with major publishers’ offerings, will debut next month through the non-profit publisher OpenStax College.

Ditch the Textbooks - Jason Fertig

In the USA Today, Peter Funt addresses the painful reality of high textbook prices. Mr. Funt notes that professors don’t have to adopt a new version of a book if that updated version puts forth only cosmetic changes. He also notes the growing availability of e-textbooks as cheaper alternatives to high-priced physical books.

While he proposes some basic steps to ease the cost burden on students, this is a more complex issue. Namely — why do certain courses need textbooks?

Column: How to break the college textbook racket - Peter Funt

A congressional advisory committee identified several factors that inflate prices. The most damaging is that the primary choosers of books are not the primary users; that is, teachers usually select the books, but students pay for them. Second, students often are resigned to hikes in prices because they are generally hostage to professors' selections.

Tech Web Sites

• http://www.technologyreview.com/ published by MIT
  

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