More and more, college students go buy the e-books

Digital textbooks are a no-brainer for many, and sales are up this year

September 01, 2011|By Kathleen Pierce, Globe Correspondent

Leslie Rule, a graduate student in education, checked out textbooks for… (kayana szymczak for the…)

For college students heading to campus, hitting the books may no longer require sturdy backpacks and strong arms.

Campus bookstores have increased the number of digital textbooks this school year, as students weaned on Facebook and iPads seek virtual alternatives to heavy tomes. Digital textbooks are projected to account for 10 to 15 percent of course materials sold by the fall of 2012, compared with just 3 percent of the $5.85 billion sold last year, according to the National Association of College Stores.

“There’s been a boom in digital titles this year,’’ said Miguel Suarez, general manager at the MIT Coop, the campus bookstore for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. This year, 25 percent of the textbooks for sale at the store are available digitally, compared with less than 10 percent last year, said Suarez.

Price is the biggest factor for students, and publishers are hoping digital discounts, in some cases up to 60 percent less than traditional texts, will make them converts. For example, at the MIT Coop, the “Technology Ventures’’ business textbook costs $151.40 for a new copy, $113.55 for a used copy, and $83.90 for the e-book. Students can save even more by renting the e-book, which costs $65.60 and expires in 180 days.

Digital textbooks also offer modern convenience. Barnes & Noble, which manages 630 college bookstores, last August created Nook Study, a free app that can be used to help students purchase and download textbooks, and organize course work. The app also acts as a digital library, allowing students to access textbooks, PowerPoint presentations, and syllabuses from computers.

“If a student drops a laptop in the bathtub, they don’t lose their textbooks,’’ said Jade Roth, vice president of books and digital strategy at Barnes & Noble. “It could be a great help for students who need rolling bags to carry all their books.’’

Nowadays most college bookstores offer a digital textbook as an option right on the bookshelf next to the hardback. Students pick up a card, which resembles a gift card, and redeem it at the register. They receive an activation code on their purchase receipt, which can be used to download the book through free software platforms such as Nook Study, VitalSource Bookshelf, or CourseSmart.

Although college textbooks have been available digitally starting about a decade ago, business started picking up within the last year as e-reader technology improved and prices dropped. Roth predicts a “pretty dramatic increase’’ in e-textbook sales this school year, but noted that the industry still has far to go with only 25 percent of what college students are looking for available in digital form.