The editorial “Textbook-cost control needs Gov’s signing,” in the Oct. 9 Daily Forty-Niner did not accurately reflect textbook publishers’ position on the textbook-related bills currently under consideration by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Assembly Bill 1548, known as the College Textbook Transparency Act, is a serious bill that would require publishers to disclose prices to faculty, list changes between editions and show copyright dates.
Publishers support this kind of transparency and are already going to great lengths to provide faculty members information about their materials, including dedicated faculty Web sites that enable instructors to make informed decisions about what learning materials would work best in their classrooms.
AB 1548 would also improve the entire textbook market by setting higher textbook transparency standards for faculty members, institutions, publishers and bookstores alike. Schwarzenegger can make a real, positive difference by signing it.
In contrast, the College Textbook Affordability Act, SB 832, would require publishers to repeatedly provide the same information to faculty during every interaction, which would be a waste of faculty time and drive up prices.
Publishers are sympathetic to students’ concerns about cost and have responded by expanding their lower-cost options, including electronic books, loose-leaf editions, black and white editions, abbreviated texts, textbooks by the chapter and customized editions.
– Stacy S. Skelly, assistant director for higher education, Association of American Publishers, Washington, D.C.
