The Book Center to offer more eBooks

Students’ lukewarm response to eBooks offered through The Book Center has spurred the store to… Students’ lukewarm response to eBooks offered through The Book Center has spurred the store to increase its selection for next semester.

The first eBooks debuted at The Book Center during the fall, although only 100 titles were available to students in the format.

Since then, The Book Center has signed a contract with CourseSmart.com, a website that offers eBooks. According to its website, CourseSmart.com carries more than 90 percent of all core textbooks used in higher education today.

Molly Stieber, a current SGB board member who pushed for eBooks on campus, said eBooks are a cheaper way for students to buy course books — especially when the end of the term buyback situation is at times a gamble.

Although eBooks purchased through The Book Center are nonreturnable and cannot be bought back, CourseSmart.com offers books that are about 60 percent cheaper than their physical counterparts.

Price listings for a number of titles available in both print and electronic forms at The Book Center are near that estimate. “Brief Principles of Macroeconomics,” by N. Gregory Mankiw, for example, costs $157.67 in print and $80.99 online — a savings of 49 percent.

“I’m eBooks all the way,” Stieber said. “It’s just another option for students — physical textbooks won’t be taken away.”

“Core textbooks, the intro and general classes will be more abundant. It will be more difficult to find an eBook that fits a niche class,” Stieber said.

Some students are not as thrilled about the prospect of digital textbooks.

Tequila Crockett, a Pitt sophomore, purchased an eBook for her introductory speech class. Although she said she can’t remember when she used it, she said it was before The Book Center offered eBooks.

She said she heard about the eBook from a professor and ultimately purchased it because it was cheaper than a physical textbook.

Overall, Crockett said she didn’t like using the eBook format, although she acknowledged its usefulness for some classes.

“But for more serious and focused studying, it wouldn’t be beneficial,” she said.

Debra Fyock, Book Center manager, said in an e-mail that she hasn’t heard from any students who have similar views.

“To date, we have had no complaints with the rentals or the eBooks. This suggests to me that the customers who have chosen this option seem to have had a good experience,” she wrote.

With the increase in available eBook options, Fyock said it will likely increase the number of eBook customers. Fyock did not say how many students used the program during the fall semester.

The eBooks are provided to students at the instructors’ request, or if the eBook directly matches the physical textbook offered.

Despite plans for more eBooks, some students still aren’t aware of the program.

Although eBooks are available for Elementary French 1 (FR 0002), Jerry Cartwright — a graduate student and teaching assistant for the class — said he was not aware of that.

This is an issue that Stieber, who initiated the eBook program, is working to rectify.

Stieber, along with The Book Center, created a student advisory committee to enhance correspondence between the book store and students, which will provide information and feedback to both parties. Stieber also said a new web design for the program is in the works to publicize the eBook portion of The Book Center website.

Stieber also plans to spread the word directly to university departments and faculty by speaking to them in person. She said she wants students to know The Book Center is a valuable resource.

When eBooks debuted at Pitt earlier this semester,students were slow to purchase them.

“We haven’t sold many at all so far,” John Burns, a manager at The Book Center, said during the first week of the semester.