Textbook Piracy Grows Online

After reading the article Textbook Piracy Grows on Line, I was surprised to learn about the growing problem of downloading textbooks on line. I was astonsihed to hear the numbers, as high as 250,000 files in a given two-week period. Textbook piracy has become an international problem. In Asia, it is a well-established industry. From my prior experience, working at Seton Hall University Bookstore, to my present day experience, I have learned that college textbooks are expensive, expecially science books. College students are spending an average of approximately $900 a year on textbooks. Economics is clearly a factor in encouraging students to break the law. I do not feel that students should upload from TextBook Torrents or any other illegal website. An alternative is to look for bookstore deals, buy used books. A new physical chemistry textbook cost $132, is $75.58 on amazon.com. A British on line bookseller site CountryBookshop.com reportedly offers college textbooks for a fraction of retail cost. Some colleges are offering textbook rental programs that let students rent out books for a semester for a flat fee. Many college professors encourage their students to share and photocopy from textbooks, although this is illegal, publishers are reluctant to take legal action. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, Princeton University bookstore is among 10 college bookstores participating in a pilot program to sell digital textbooks. The store offers about 10 digital books for about 33% off retail price. Students buy a card with a special code to download a PDF version of the book from www.digitaltextbook.com. I believe these are all good ways to save on textbook costs rather than download illegally.