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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, September 1, 2002

Students often shocked by high cost of textbooks

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

University of Hawai'i-Manoa accounting student Kathleen Han went shopping for textbooks Wednesday at the campus bookstore. After spending $203.20, Han walked out with just two books.

"I need more money," Han said. "I'll have to come back. Hopefully, it will cost me less than $500 for books this semester."

UH psychology major Jeslyn Tantog prowls the shelves at the UH bookstore. Four books cost her $250.

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Along with the increasing costs of tuition, housing, food and clothing, college students must now take a serious look at budgeting to pay for books whose cost has jumped as much as 400 percent in recent years, according to UH officials.

That compares with the consumer price index, which has risen 9.3 percent in Hawai'i since the mid-1990s, while tuition for a full-time undergraduate resident student has more than doubled, from $1,631 in 1995 to $3,348 today.

A study of the cost of textbooks conducted by the National Association of College Stores showed that a typical paperback textbook that sold for $5 to $6 in the mid-1990s sells for $25.95 today.

At UH, the oversized paperback textbook "Reporting for the Media," sells for $70 new and $52.50 used. The average price for a non-technical paperback textbook such as history or literature runs about $25; a non-technical hardcover sells for between $70 and $80; and a technical book such as medical, accounting or law sells for $100, according to the university. And many classes require more than one book.

"I'm appalled at the prices," said geology and geophysics instructor Patricia Lee. "Textbooks went from $20 to $30 about three years ago to $65 to $80 now. I understand an increase but not two or three times."

Some students say they don't buy books that are too expensive and depend on lecture notes or borrowing books from friends to get by.

UH history major Benjamin Park lugs a stack of textbooks from the bookstore. The price of books for one semester often runs into hundreds of dollars.

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Worried that the price of books was hurting her students' education, Lee decided to meet with some textbook representatives to find a reasonably priced book to use. She found an appropriate title that is shrink-wrapped with a second book and a CD for $65.

"That is a good deal," Lee said. "These kids come and pay $100 for a textbook. Upper level can be $120 to $150 because they come in from England or other places. Other faculty are concerned about it too. I've always wanted to go back to $30 a text. We will never go back to that, but at least I want something a little more reasonable."

There are several reasons why the price of textbooks has gone up, including the use of high-tech media, such as color photos and computer software, and a substantial increase in the price of paper, said Joe Murray, local representative for textbook publisher Prentice Hall.

"Back in the early '70s, paper mills were told to retrofit to meet new environmental requirements," Murray said. "It was a pretty hefty price tag and many shut down. It is one of the hidden costs of the environmental movement. About 1997 we suddenly had a 45 or 50 percent jump in the price of paper in one year."

According to the National Association of College Stores, the lifespan of the average textbook is three to five years, but books frequently become obsolete in their second year of distribution.

"I'm appalled at the prices," said Patricia Lee, a geology and geophysics instructor at UH.

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"The book had better make a profit the first year because it is downhill after that," Murray said. "If you sign a very successful book that is used even more in its second year, you'll see about half the sales that you saw the first year because of the huge sales gap that is all used books."

Used texts are one way for students to keep down costs. Students can buy used books if they're available and sell them back to the store at the end of the semester if the instructors plan to use the text the following semester. Generally, though, students can expect a return of only about half of what they paid when selling back a text.

The Hawai'i Pacific University bookstore will pay 50 percent of the current new price for books needed for upcoming terms if they're in good condition.

Once they have enough texts, the bookstore will try to purchase books for national used-book wholesalers who pay 10 percent to 40 percent of the current new price for books.

Cathy Lapitan, manager for Cheapo Books in Pucks Alley, said although the store buys used books and music, they refuse to deal in textbooks.

"Textbooks come out with new editions every year, and it is really hard to keep up with," Lapitan said. "Professors change each semester, and many don't use that particular textbook. It is something you really need to be up to date on. Unless you have some sort of deal going on with the publishers and can return them, you are going to be stuck with a lot of textbooks that aren't going to be moving."

UH senior Benjamin Park bought as many used books as he could this semester to save money. He spent $168 on 10 books, and the history major expects to spend $100 more.

"I was going to look online but it is so convenient (at the bookstore)," Park said. "I'm sure there are better deals, but school has already started and I'm late, so I'm buying here."

Murray said publishers have begun offering loose-leaf text-only books that cost about 30 percent less than regular books. The graphics are available on a Web site accessed with a password provided to the book buyer. About 20 percent of Prentice Hall texts are available in this format, he said.

Students who know in advance what classes they will be taking can sometimes find book bargains on the Internet. Online bookstores may have lower prices on books that can be moved in larger volume than an institutionally-run store for core textbooks. However, UH officials cautioned that students need to make sure they are getting the right book for their class.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.