It may not be huge in the UK yet, but the new digital concept of e-renting is growing fast. The renting of etextbooks involves paying for access to the textbook in electronic format for a fixed amount of time, ranging from a month to the whole course year. In North America, CourseSmart is one of many new companies renting etextbooks. Their catalogue includes 90% of core textbooks used in North American Higher Education, as well as accompanying eresources and course material, and they provide etextbooks and digital learning tools to millions of students (CourseSmart, 2014).
Its popularity is likely due to saving students money - with Amazon (2014) boasting savings of up to 80% through their eTextbooks store, and maximum portability with compatibility over multiple devices including iPad, Android tablet, Mac or PC. It also saves carrying heavy textbooks around, while storing them all in one place. And though traditional study techniques of making annotations, highlighting and underlining require new processes through technology, with the iPad and newer technology available, note-taking features have been well received [by students] (Venable, 2011).
A low-cost option to acquire textbooks with no resale risk means students can be expected to gravitate toward rentals (Benson-Armer et al., 2014), however though a great option for students it creates real issues for publishers. Publishers lose out on purchases of their higher costing print textbooks, missing the opportunity to earn back the costs of producing such material.
Publishers can use available technology to respond to new marketplace demands and compete with increasing eTextbook rental schemes. They could consider creating eTextbooks that are subject to updates annually, as educational publishers have an important relationship with HE sectors ensuring they keep close to developments in the curriculum (Hall, p:97). This would solve traditional print problems especially in scientific areas of study where things can change very quickly, and by setting up a model where there are guaranteed updates it ensures their information stays current without requiring buying the book again, as is the only option with print books (Walsh, 2011). That way students will see it as an investment that lasts the course of their education, and have no need to turn to second-hand books or rental schemes.
Publishers can also focus on making their digital content more interactive and dynamic. Opportunities for publishers lie in ‘the creation of dynamic digital-learning resources’, with many publishers already creative adaptive exercises, digital text with interactive graphics, audio, video and desktop simulations (Benson-Armer et al., 2014). This coupled with rentable or purchasable content offers a unique edge other eTextbook lenders don’t supply.
Publishers would be producing material proven to be successful, eliminating any risk of investing; as evidence suggests these digital tools can improve educational outcomes. Dropout rates fell to 14% from 31% after adaptive digital tools where introduced at Australia’s University of New South Wales (Benson-Armer et al., 2014).
Or, publishers could tap in to this already existing market and adopt their own subscription service for textbooks. In 2011 publishers McGraw-Hill launched a platform with over 1000 technical textbooks (Walsh) to serve customers wanting to read but not own, cutting out discounted sales to e-lending websites. Renting of etextbooks is a threat to traditional HE publishers, but in this digital age there are many ways publishers can take advantage of it.
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