Toronto: “Campus Bookstores Change in the Digital Age” & E-Textbook vs. Printed Textbook
From a Toronto Star Article:
North American industry data show that campus bookstore total sales and textbook sales are declining, typically between 3 to 6 per cent per year, according to [Chad] Saunders [vice president retail for University of Toronto Press]. It’s a hit that mirrors the challenges facing independent book sellers in the digital age amid growing online competition from services like Amazon.
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…Kelly Abraham, associate director of the campus store at Ryerson University, says they’ve recently seen a hit — a 6 to 8 per cent drop in textbook sales for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. He says they’re bracing for a continued shift to digital by offering more textbooks online.
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Saunders says University of Toronto Press conducts regular customer surveys, including six last year that elicited over 10,000 total responses. One survey in January revealed that only 7 per cent of students would opt for an e-book when given the choice of buying or renting a new or used book, or buying a six-month e-book subscription at 60 per cent off. That’s only a slight increase from the 6 per cent who said they’d do the same in 2011.
Read the Complete Article (869 Words)
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Data Files
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.