Do free e-texts reduce sales of print textbooks?

A report presented September 15, 2009 and conducted by JISC Collections indicates that free electronic textbooks may not significantly affect sales of print textbooks. However, publishing companies are going on record as disagreeing with the report findings, JISC Collections is a UK firm established to negotiate with vendors and owners of electronic texts and other digital content.

The report is based on a study of student use of 36 textbooks at 127 universities in the UK. From November 2007 to December 2008, students had free access to 36 textbooks online. Print sales of the textbooks during this period were compared to print sales of the same texts from 2006 to 2007. The data showed that book sales fell during the print-sales-only period 18.7% and fell 13.7% during the subsequent free-access period.

According to Bookseller.com, UK publisher Palgrave Macmillan managing director Dominic Knight disagrees with the report’s findings. The study showed reduced sales for two e-texts from his publishing house that were included in the study. Macmillan pointed out the small sample as not representative of the issues in the electronic book marketplace. Distributors of electronic content like JISC would need to pay fair fees representing distribution to students, rather than simply make the books available free. Publishers must be able to recoup their investment in research and publishing.

An interesting note is that many students simply viewed the texts online, and did not download them even though downloading was an option. Most of the textbooks were scanned for content, not read completely, and the incidence of cutting and pasting information was high. This may indicate that current book formats may not meet the needs of the student consumer, who requires ease of use and access.

The JISC study also recommends that publishers develop better e-text platforms, which could include removing digital rights management, making content available to plagiarism detection software vendors, and having e-books include and conform to ISBN standards. These ideas present new challenges to publishers and authors.

The electronic textbook market is growing as distance learning and internet usage increases. Students are requiring flexibility not only in their coursework contact and delivery, but also in textbook access. The issues presented and observed in this study are not only relevant to academic book publishing, but also digital rights management and distribution of all types of print texts.

Students no doubt are frugal by need, and prefer free textbooks to those costing upwards of hundreds of dollars. It is not surprising to find that they did not purchase print copies of their texts while a free online version was available. However, publishers must find new methods of making information accessible to consumers without putting themselves out of business by making all texts free and digital at the same time.

Better methods of text access and storage for future reference are required as the book market changes in response to consumer requirements. Student use studies may be indicative of how knowledge from texts and other print media will be acquired and disseminated in our electronic age.

© Cindy Wolfe, all rights reserved
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