According CCCOER, the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) has conducted a study on digital and open text books. Nicole Allen, the Campaign director, is the author of the report entitled “Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks are Off Track and How to Set them Straight.”
According to the LA Times, which featured the story, the report is based on a survey of 504 students from Portland State University and the City Colleges of Chicago. Here are excerpts from the report:
(the report) asserts that commercial publishers are going about the digital textbook revolution the wrong way. Commercial e-textbooks are no cheaper than hard-copy editions when you take into account that students can sell print books back to the bookstore for half the cover price… And restrictions on printing and online access make commercial e-books unfeasible for many students, the report said.
Jane Park of Creative commons, also featured a report on the topic, Solution is Open Textbooks, where Nicole Allen notes:
I think this report helps draw a brighter line between the good and bad of digital textbooks. I think open textbooks too often get lumped into the overarching category of digital books, which does not do them justice as a solution. We hope it will help refocus all of the momentum for digital textbooks toward the right kind of digital textbooks – open.
The report stressed the need to support open digital textbooks, that are released online without any limitations on access, and pleaded with college systems and faculty to ensure this is the case. The full report can be downloaded at the Student PIRG website.
