Textbooks continued from Page 5
An unsolicited gift is yours to
do with it what you want."
Gage said he gives unwanted
texts to the department’s
writing laboratory or to the
University Main Library; others
he admits selling. "When! have
sold books," he explained, "the
money has gone to the Universi
ty Foundation," which solicits
money from the private sector to
fund University programs in ac
cord with the donor’s wishes.
Other instructors have no
qualms about selling texts.
“They bring in stacks of them at
the end of the term," according
to Pamela DeLaittre, textbook
department employee at the
University Bookstore.
According to a recent Chroni
examination copies, the texts
usually are sent to national
used-book warehouses for
redistribution.
Karl Smith, a mathematics
professor at Santa Rosa Junior
College, found out just how
rapid that process is.
Smith authored and publish
ed a text three weeks before it
was to be used in a class he was
teaching. On the first day of
class, more than half the
students had purchased used
copies that instructors across
the country had sold to used
book dealers.
Because Smith's text was
published so soon before the
term began, instructors who
already had selected other texts
‘Publishers send 10 when only one is
relevant to the program’
— John Gage
cle of Higher Education report,
such sales amounted to about
$80 million in 1986.
DeLaittre said some instruc
tors who have sold used texts to
the Bookstore specifically asked
the publisher for the examina
tion copies. “Then they bring
them in to us in volume.“ she
said.
According to DeLaittre, the
instructors' choice to sell their
free texts is something the
Bookstore can’t and doesn’t try
to control. "We don’t have a
stand on that. We can’t. We’re
in the business of buying used
books here.’’ she said.
The Bookstore does,
however, require identification
from those who sell back books.
During finals week of each
term the Bookstore loans space
at its buy-back counter to a
used-book dealer. Company
representatives, who don't re
quire ID, will purchase used
texts usually at one-third the
listed price, or less. DeLaittre
said.
The Bookstore also buys back
texts — the ones professors have
ordered for the next term —
through the visiting used-book
dealer. These buy-back prices
are half of what students
originally pay for both new and
used texts, which is 11 percent
off the listed price.
"They are called in to speed
up the process. It’s easier for us
because we don't have to pay
them to do it,” DeLaittre said.
When instructors sell their
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didn't need his. His order at the
local bookstore might have been
the only one in the country. The
bookstore ordered Smith’s text
from a national used-book
dealer, which had bought the
publisher’s free copies from in
structors through other
bookstores.
In addition to used-book
dealers, publishing houses fre
quently are targeted as major
contributors to rising costs of
textbooks.
Gage said texts — whether
new or used — are more expen
sive than they need to be. He at
tributes the exorbitance to inef
ficiency in distribution of com
plimentary texts. “Publishers
send 10 when only one is rele
vant to the program," he said.
To establish a more efficient
system. Gage suggests that
publishers' promotional tactics
be revised. "They haven’t
thought of enough alter
natives,” he said. “I think they
should have sales represen
tatives who are extremely
familiar with the needs of the
programs.”
Presently, publishers mail
texts en masse to instructors
who work in the general subject
area of the new release. By lear
ning about the schools' pro
grams and needs and attemp
ting to meet those demands,
costs attributed to the promo
tional procedure could be
significantly reduced. Gage
reasoned.
"It’s just a different way of
using personnel." he said.
The process increases the
price of new texts in two ways.
The retail price of a new text
must include the cost of produc
tion and distribution of instruc
tors’ examination copies.
Secondly, retail price must
compensate for the competition
that examination copies pro
duce on the used-book market.
Therefore, the price of used
books, which is based on the
price of new books, is greater as
well.
Rapid saturation of the new
text market, a direct result of the
presence of the used-book
market, dramatically cuts
royalties paid to authors.
Writers and others associated
with the business seem to agree
royalties from texts sink virtual
ly to nothing within two to five
years after the initial publica
tion. even assuming a constant
demand and use for it in the
classroom exists.
Motivation to author texts
may be affected by the complex
ities and risk of its marketabili
ty. The fact that a text,
regardless of its popularity or
use. might not pay for itself in
terms of research costs of time,
may discourage scholars from
publishing.
The other option of constant
ly revising to produce new edi
tions makes the time
consuming process unending
Taxes
Continued from Page 5
fellowship grant, including ,
grant payments for incidental
expenses."
Beginning in 1987, only a
candidate for a degree may ex
clude amounts received as a
"qualified scholarship." A
qualified scholarship is any
amount received that is used for
tuition and fees to enroll in an
educational institution or for
fees, books, supplies and re
quired equipment for courses.
“In the past there were a lot ofr
instances where scholarships
were not taxable income. Now
with the changed law, a lot of
scholarships will be taxable and
they must be on the tax return,"
Hillebrecht said.
Me said it is probable that not
many students are aware of this
portion of the law and they
should check whether or not
this should be included in their
tax return.
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