[Libs-Or] Textbook publishers and the push for rental-only

[Austad, Julie]

Good morning,

This is a follow up to Zachary Grant's email regarding Pearson and the "Curious Researcher." Here are more details regarding the dilemma that we've run into at Clark and further information that we've uncovered after some preliminary research. Please read the information below and let us know if you have run into this at your own libraries.

Short version:
Textbook publishers are making deals with college bookstore associations on rental- or digital-only copies of their books. This means that libraries cannot put copies on reserve, and at least at Clark, students who can afford it but don't have credit cards aren't able to purchase the rentals or digital copies. We have many Running Start students without credit cards who have already informed their instructors that they cannot rent a required text. I am under the impression from my conversation with a Pearson rep and after reading through the many articles linked below that this is a major upcoming trend in most major textbook publishers as they want to cut down on the resale of their materials.

Detailed version:
I spoke with a rep from Pearson during the week of September 25th to get more information about this rental-only limitation and specifically why we (Clark Libraries) couldn't get ahold of a print copy of the latest edition (9th) of the Curious Researcher.

Despite appearances, it is impossible to order a copy through their website:
https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Ballenger-The-Curious-Researcher-A-Guide-to-Writing-Research-Papers-9th-Edition/PGM333866.html#<https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Ballenger-The-Curious-Researcher-A-Guide-to-Writing-Research-Papers-9th-Edition/PGM333866.html>

Gobi shows the print book's status as out of stock at publisher.

The "new or used" copies on amazon range between $250-2,000 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0134498267/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all).

I was informed by the rep at Pearson that they are indeed not making print copies available for purchase. They are piloting a rental- or digital-only program nationwide in college bookstores (Clark Bookstore included) with 50 titles (one of which is the Curious Researcher 9th edition). This is an agreement between Pearson and indiCo<https://www.nacs.org/AboutNACS/leadership/indiCoboard.aspx>, part of the National Association of College Stores, announced on April 20, 2017.

Around the same time, Pearson made a similar or connected deal with Chegg. Here are some articles about these deals:


*         Published by indiCo: http://www.goindico.com/press-releases/pearson-and-indico-partner-to-bring-students-more-affordable-textbooks-in-campus-stores


*         Textbook Guru: https://www.thetextbookguru.com/2017/04/11/pearson-chegg-partner-exclusive-rentals/


*         PRWeb: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/04/prweb14248807.htm


*         Pearson: https://www.pearson.com/corporate/news/media/news-announcements/2017/04/pearson-and-chegg-announce-partnership-to-make-textbooks-more-af.html


*         From Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/73388-pearson-strikes-textbook-rental-deal-with-nacs.html


*         Campus Technology: https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/04/21/pearson-expands-textbook-rental-program.aspx

The Pearson rep made it clear to me that this will most likely be a trend in the publishing world and mentioned Cengage and McGraw-Hill by name.

I found this article about Macmillan making a rental deal, also with indiCo: http://www.goindico.com/press-releases/macmillan-learning-and-indico-join-forces-to-provide-college-students-with-more-affordable-course-materials

When I asked Pearson about requesting a copy as an instructor and putting that on reserve, the rep said they had been specifically directed to not allow copies to be sold to be put in a "library reserve collection."

The Pearson rep did mention that students have an option to request a print copy of a textbook if using REVEL (Pearson's online learning platform, https://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/). I received more information about REVEL later that it is an additional purchase separate from the rental pilot and that students have an option to "upgrade" to print, which sounds like even more of a financial barrier. Of course, this still does not address that libraries cannot own print copies.

While trying to find out more about all of this, I came across a major movement that also sprouted up this spring and summer to combat textbook counterfeiting. The major parties involved in this effort are Pearson Education, Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Chegg, and Ingram: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/06/22/three-major-publishers-sue-college-store-company-over-textbook-counterfeiting.

Please let us know if you have encountered this at your own institutions and how you have handled the situation.

Please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,


Julie Austad, MLS
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Pronouns: she, her, hers
jaustad at clark.edu<mailto:jaustad at clark.edu> - (360 )992-2426
Clark College Libraries
[jaustad2017_50]

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