U-Store offers digital textbooks through pilot program

Students lamenting the high prices and sheer weight of textbooks now have an alternative. A leading textbook wholesaler chose Princeton as one of 10 universities to test the Universal Digital Textbook program, giving students the option of purchasing a digital textbook in place of a hard copy.

MBS Textbook Exchange, a Missouri-based company, has made digital versions available for 10 textbooks carried at the U-Store. The number of digital textbooks is limited by the number of publishers that are participating in the program, U-Store marketing director Virginia France said.

Though the U-Store has advertised the program with a large banner outside the store, many students said they were still unsure about what the initiative means. Others said they were not even aware of its existence.

"I really don't know anything about it, but it sounds pretty awesome," Ruben Pope '07 said. "If it's cheaper and you just have to print out pages when there's already free printing, I think that would be a wonderful opportunity."

France said digital textbooks hold several advantages over the paper versions.

"They are lighter, environmentally friendly and cheaper," she said, noting that digital textbooks are typically about two-thirds the price of a new textbook.

Like regular textbooks, France said, "you can have them for a lifetime if you want to."

Alongside the hard copies of the textbooks on U-store shelves, students can pick up a card that is activated at the cash register, allowing for a onetime download of the textbook from www.DigitalTextbooks.net.

The textbook can be downloaded to only one computer as a PDF file, which allows the reader to highlight and take notes. The text is also accompanied by an audio version.

France said the U-Store does not maintain exact numbers on digital textbook sales, arguing that it is still too early to assess their popularity.

Several students said they were hesitant about making the transition to digital texts.

"I thought about doing it, but then I thought it would just be easier to buy the book," Helen Dinsmore '09 said. "I think it would be too much of a pain to print out pages from the computer."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Carine Davila '09 agreed. "I'm still old-fashioned," she said.

Both students said they preferred to have a hard copy to write in and bring to class.

France said she believes there is a role for digital books in students' libraries, but she added, "I don't think books are going away anytime soon. I don't think people will give them up."

France points out that digital books could be considered costlier, in spite of the lower upfront price tag, because they cannot be sold back to the U-Store at the end of the year.

The U-Store buys back new and used books for up to 50 percent of their original price.

Jeff Nelson, who runs the bookstore at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, which is also piloting the Universal Digital Textbook program this year, said that relatively few students have opted so far to buy the digital versions available for some 20 textbooks.

Nelson attributed the sales lag to a last-minute marketing campaign, which began at the beginning of this academic year.

"The sales really don't reflect the interest, because there has been a lot of interest," Nelson said. "You just tend to buy something you know and some are not as eager to jump into the unknown."

Nelson said he remains committed to the digital initiative at Bowling Green. "For us to be involved is really part of our mission," Nelson said. "The program will evolve and change but that is part of the process."

In addition to Princeton and Bowling Green, universities participating in the MBS program include University of Utah, University of Oregon, Portland Community College, California State University at Fullerton, Baton Rouge University, Georgetown, West Virginia University and Kentucky State University.