By Stephanie Simon and Madeline Will, Reuters
A booming market in recent years for selling and renting used college textbooks has saved students across the United States a ton of cash. But it has put textbook publishers in a bind. They don’t make a cent unless students buy their books new. So increasingly, publishers like Pearson Plc and McGraw-Hill Education are turning to a new model: Creating online versions of their texts, often loaded with interactive features, and selling students access codes that expire at semester’s end. Publishers save on printing, shipping and process returns. The e-books are good for learning and good for their bottom line. There’s just one catch: Persuading students to go digital isn’t easy. Online products accounted for 27 percent of the $12.4 billion spent on textbooks for secondary schools and colleges in the United States last year, according to research firm Outsell Inc.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-usa-education-textbook-idUSBRE96M04520130723
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