Textbook

The invention is attributed to German metalsmith Johannes Gutenberg, who cast type in molds using a melted metal alloy and constructed a wooden-screw printing press to transfer the image onto paper.

Most notably, an increasing number of authors are avoiding commercial publishers and instead offering their textbooks under a creative commons or other open license.

As in many industries, the number of providers has declined in recent years (there are just a handful of major textbook companies in the United States).

Students with a new textbook can use the pass code in the book to register on the site; otherwise they must pay the publisher to access the website and complete assigned homework.

"New editions are to a considerable extent simply another tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up prices.

[13] The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per student.

Legislation at state and federal levels seeks to limit the practice of bundling, by requiring publishers to offer all components separately.

Their most recent study found that 77% of faculty say publisher sales representatives do not volunteer prices, and only 40% got an answer when they directly asked.

The GAO report found that, generally, if a book is in good condition and will be used on the campus again the next term, bookstores will pay students 50 percent of the original price paid.

This may be done by posting flyers to advertise the sale of the books or simply soliciting individuals who are shopping in the college bookstore for the same titles.

Also, at the US Air Force Academy, it is possible to e-mail entire specific classes, allowing for an extensive network of textbook sales to exist.

In either case, the student must create the listing for each book themselves and wait for a buyer to order, making the use of marketplaces a more passive way of selling used textbooks.

[32] The concept is not unlike the limited licensing approach for computer software, which places rigid restrictions on resale and reproduction.

The intent is to make users understand that the content of any textbook is the intellectual property of the author and/or the publisher, and that as such, subject to copyright.

The article "E books rewrite the rules of education" states that, alternately to spending a lot of money on textbooks, you can purchase an e-textbook at a small amount of the cost.

[34] E-textbook applications facilitate similar experiences to physical textbooks by allowing the user to highlight and take notes in-page.

[35] In-store rentals are processed by either using a kiosk and ordering books online with a third party facilitator or renting directly from the store's inventory.

Rented items can be used for a set duration of time, then are required to be returned to the physical store or shipped back to the third party facilitator by the rental due date.

[18] Although the largest question seems to be who is going to pay to write them, several state policies suggest that public investment in open textbooks might make sense.

[40][41][42] Their business model[43] was to offer the open textbook free online,[44][45] and then sell ancillary products that students are likely to buy if prices are reasonable – print copies, study guides, ePub, .Mobi (Kindle), PDF download, etc.

[47] Flat World Knowledge intends to have open textbooks available for the 125 highest-enrolled courses on college campuses within the next few years.

An example print on demand open textbook title, "College Algebra" by Stitz & Zeager through Lulu is 608 pages, royalty free, and costs about $20 ordered one at a time (March 2011).

Specifically, they cited the ability students have to purchase books from online distribution channels outside the United States at lower prices, which may result in a loss of sales for U.S. retailers.

While the 1998 Supreme Court decision Quality King v. L'anza protects the reimportation of copyrighted materials under the first-sale doctrine, textbook publishers have still attempted to prevent the U.S. sale of international editions by enforcing contracts which forbid foreign wholesalers from selling to American distributors.

Inaccurately retelling history, through textbooks or other literature, has been practiced in many societies, from ancient Rome to the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China.

The content of history textbooks is often determined by the political forces of state adoption boards and ideological pressure groups.

The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County case brought forward a debate about scientific fact being presented in textbooks.

[58] At some instances, there were nonsensical examples to illustrate physical phenomena; then a company sent – for reasons of timing – a textbook that contained blank pages, which even got good critiques.

[59] A 2005 PIRG study found that textbooks cost students $900 per year, and that prices[17] increased four times the rate of inflation over the past decade.

[citation needed] In cases of history, science, current events, and political textbooks, "the writer might be biased towards one way or another.