So, we published a piece about our thoughts about the free textbook movement and this is an extension of our thoughts.
“Students having access to free textbooks is essential for fostering real change in the textbook industry, for it forces major publishers to reevaluate their business models. Will free textbooks mean a drop in quality? Absolutely not! Take for example the transformation in the music industry when illegal downloading became commonplace, this phenomenon (albeit illegal) forced music companies to reevaluate their business models and treat their customers with more respect and actually listen to their their demands. Now customers don’t have to purchase entire albums, unless they choose to AND the quality of the album warrants. So, this would actually be a case for the quality of music going up, rather than down based on the “free” model. Is the quality of textbooks suddenly going to dive because companies such as our are offering free textbooks? Absolutely not, and one could argue that the quality will go up. Publishers will have to evaluate the exorbitant prices they charge for the few changes in new editions of non-free textbooks. Moving toward more free textbooks in the marketplace will force publishers to consider what changes are of “actual” worth to the students and faculty. This would mean that if a publisher is putting out a new edition, it better be worth it or the free textbook alternative will squash the push for new editions.
Another reason companies/publishers can provide free textbooks like ours: they/we can give away their base product and charge for all their other ancillary products, study guides, teaching videos, or printed copies.
To correlate this example back to music, take the fact that some bands allow recording of live concerts such as The Grateful Dead and Dave Matthews. Do concert goers stop purchasing live albums because they could get a copy from their friends free? Absolutely not, those two bands have some of the top live album sales. Do you think people stopped going to the shows because they could get a recently recorded show on the internet? Absolutely not, both bands are top touring bands, selling out across the country, selling tons of merchandise (ancillary products), just like providing free textbooks will do for the textbook industry.
The Worldwide Center of Mathematics offers licensing for departments to alter the content, upgrade, and edit as they choose. This is the perfect scenario for professors to be able to control the content they are teaching their students. Instructors can reorganize the content, and edit, down to the sentence, to improve the experience for both students and teachers. Departments can even license the content and sell it for a profit.
Lastly, free textbooks will also force publishers to publish only content relevant to the subject matter, instead of stuffing the pages with unnecessary content to justify a $200 price-tag, much like demand for “significant” and “useful” change to new editions.”
Please email me your thoughts es (at) centerofmath.org.
Also, please support the folks at the Student PIRG’s on their affordability campaign.
A lot more consumers have to realize what this is and the way it can help, I thoroughly enjoyed this post and I hope that others did as well. BTW I hope you don’t my if I link this to my site, because i know my readers would want this, Thanks. Thanks