STUDENTS IN BIND BECAUSE OF BOOKS THEIR COST NEARLY TRIPLES SINCE '86.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS 

Staff Writer

VALENCIA -- Increasing demands for colorful and visual learning aides and little market pressure were reasons cited Monday for the nationwide issue of skyrocketing textbook prices, according to testimony at a public hearing at College of the Canyons.

As part of a year-long federal study initiated by U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held the second of three meetings to discuss some of the work being done by textbook publishers and college bookstores, as well as faculty members, to address the issue of textbook prices.

College textbook prices have nearly tripled since 1986 -- inflation has gone up 72 percent, McKeon aide Bob Cochran said.

University of California, Davis, senior Aimee Marie Munoz-Lopez, co-coordinator of the Affordable Textbooks Campaign, said these numbers are not only frustrating -- they are unfair.

"I am glad to hear that Congress and the Department of Education want to do something," Munoz-Lopez said.

After working full time for the majority of her four years in college, and taking a full course load of at least 15 units a semester, Munoz can personally attest to the strain textbook prices puts on college students.

"I am now the employee of two companies; I was working three jobs but I have been able to drop to two now," Munoz-Lopez added.

Part of the problem is the unique relationship between buyers and sellers in the college textbook industry, panelists explained. Books are sold to teachers by publishers, but the real consumers, students, buy their books from bookstores. That dynamic eliminates the usual market pressures that control costs in other industries.

College administrators, faculty members and bookstore owners have designed various alternatives to address these issues.

In the San Mateo Community College District, a pilot textbook rental program reduced the cost of books by 30 percent for the 7,000 students who participated in the program last semester.

Aggressive buy-back programs and book swaps give college bookstores more used books to sell at a lower price to students, and the Internet has led many teachers to use on-line resources, many times free of charge, to reduce costs for students.

Schools have also started textbook scholarship funds for students, who cite the cost of textbooks as a leading cause for dropping classes.

Publishers said cheaper options exist.

Hardcover books can be replaced with paperback covers, and looseleaf copies of books can be sold at a fraction of the cost of a sturdy bound text, publishers explained.

But the effects of technology on today's visual crop of college students cannot be denied by college textbook publishers.

"Because of the different learning styles among students, publishers are having to extend beyond their print editions at a greater frequency," said Sean Wakely, president of Thomson Arts and Sciences publishing.

Wakely said that to remain competitive, publishing companies have to create products that fit every price point, and that means sometimes spending a lot of money developing top-of-the-line digital materials.

"We are trying to have our customers feel that we are giving them the highest quality product; that is why we offer such a wide array of options to fit every value perception."

Still for many, buying the books -- with no supplements -- is hard enough.

And for Munoz-Lopez, who has spent countless hours volunteering to address the textbook issue, it is unfair that students have to add this to their list of concerns.

"Last I checked I was supposed to be concentrating on school," Munoz-Lopez said. "But after four years of mental and physical exhaustion I am only $30,000 in debt."

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