Press Release - Friday, March 03, 2006
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Textbook prices have increased 186% in the last two decades - nearly triple the inflation rate!
SPRINGFIELD - Thursday, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn hosted a "Textbook Town Hall Meeting" where students, parents and professors gathered to share their concerns about the rising price of textbooks. Quinn also urged the General Assembly to consider legislation ending "textbook bundling."
"Students and parents are already shouldering the cost of tuition," Quinn said. "We don't want the ever-increasing price of textbooks to put a complete education out of reach."
The College Textbook Initiative - sponsored by Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana) - will require college and university bookstores to sell a textbook separately if the store also offers the book bundled with other study products such as workbooks or a CD-ROM. Publishers will be required to sell campus stores the unbundled textbook if the bundled product is also supplied to the store. And campus bookstores will be required to post lists of necessary textbooks as early as possible.
"Publishers are charging students a bundle for a $1 CD and some shrink wrap," Quinn said. "Give students the option to buy these materials without costly bells-and-whistles."
The College Textbook Initiative will decrease the cost of textbooks to students and parents by as much as 10 percent. And by giving students early access to lists of required texts, students and parents will have the option to search elsewhere for textbooks, including with overseas online vendors who sometimes offer "international" editions at prices up to 50 percent less than campus stores.
Quinn was joined by students, parents and professors from across the state who spoke out against the rising cost of textbooks. Quinn was also joined by state legislators who support the bill, including Rep. Jakobsson.
"College textbooks have become so expensive that students tell me stories about not being able to afford their materials for weeks into the semester," Jakobsson said. "If students are financially unable to obtain their required course readings, then their education may be negatively impacted. This town hall meeting gives us the chance to begin discussions on this important issue and hear from students on steps we can take to provide relief."
Lt. Governor Quinn is a longtime advocate for reducing the price of textbooks. Quinn hosts the webpage www.SaveOnTexbooks.org where students and parents can share stories about textbook pricing and suggest ways to lower textbook costs.
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