Web Sources
Band, J. (2013). THE CHANGING TEXTBOOK INDUSTRY . Retrieved from DiSco: http://www.project-disco.org/competition/112113-the-changing-textbook-industry/#.V_FmQZqKTMw .
This webpage discusses the unique place of the publishing industry players and the specific advantages they enjoy, including that of ever-high prices of textbook materials. Nonetheless, industry players face challenges with regards to profit making due to the internet through online rentals, reduced demand for print books and increased competition for mainstream publishers.
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Alainn, R. (2016). How the Textbook Industry Tries to Hook Your Prof . Retrieved from Wired: https://www.wired.com/2016/05/textbook-industry-tries-hook-prof/ .
This article discusses the various challenges that students have while making choices for buying school textbooks. The author explains that the student-professor-publisher relationship can be marred since the professor makes the buying choices for textbooks with the publisher without having to bear the cost for books.
Student Pirgs. (2007). Exposing the Textbook Industry . Retrieved from Student Pirgs: http://www.studentpirgs.org/reports/exposing-textbook-industry .
This source discusses the peculiar challenges that professors and students are facing with regards to textbook catalogues online. Inadequate information is available on textbooks sites to enable instructors make informed choices on the books they would use.
Opidee, J. (2014). College textbook forecast: Radical change ahead . Retrieved from University Business: https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/college-textbook-forecast-radical-change-ahead .
This article has a futuristic approach to analyzing the textbook industry. It is expected that the internet will remake the textbook industry and enable easy access to cheap alternatives in the face of high costs of education, spiraling student loans among other precipitating factors.
Mitchell, J. (2014). A Tough Lesson for College Textbook Publishers . Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-tough-lesson-for-college-textbook-publishers-1409182139 .
This article envisions a business perspective for the implication of emergence of cheap alternatives to mainstream textbooks. In the face of student challenges including debt, students will opt for book rentals or searching for scanned copies of books online.
Ross, T. (2015). The Death of Textbooks? Retrieved from The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-death-of-textbooks/387055/ .
There is likelihood that the migration to digital sources could affect the existence of textbooks altogether. This article considers what may be lost (or added) to the learning experience once textbooks are phased out.
National Association of College Stores. (2016). Higher Education Retail Market Facts & Figures . Retrieved from National Association of College Stores: https://www.nacs.org/research/industrystatistics/higheredfactsfigures.aspx .
This site explores the relationship between the number of college student and their demographic factors alongside the growth of the textbook industry and the increase in prices within the industry. Student spending was dependent on student status, their study course and school of study.
Academic Sources
Sewall, G. (2005). Textbook publishing. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(7) , 498.
The US text book industry was said to be one of the best – offering the largest variety for quality information on whatever subject. However, sameness reduces quality in every sample one takes. There is no longer the assurance of different information.
Fackler, M. (2015). U.S. Textbook Skews History, Prime Minister of Japan says. Retrieved from New York Times: http://cwjc.rnrc-us.org/News/012915_US%20Textbook%20Skews%20History,%20Prime%20Minister%20of%20Japan%20Says.pdf .
In this article, the Times records various instances where textbooks have been found to give inaccurate information in learning history. Textbooks can be seen as skewing history and presenting facts in biased manners.
Critical analysis
In the course of researching on web sources, I majorly focused on websites that appeared on the Google search once I entered “US Textbook Industry”. The result was that the highest ranking websites with information on this topic were brought forward and I sifted through the articles to give a brief annotation on the content. On the other hand, the library search was based on the keyword ‘publishing, textbooks and U.S.’. The search was not as successful as it yielded me different results, only two of which were applicable in the case study.
A comparison of the research methods immediately revealed the disparity that comes with using the library as opposed to web resources. While the library may provide deep insight into useful information on the topic, only limited material was available on the same. On the other hand, web resources provided a bulk of information on different areas of the textbook industry that could yield different research areas if pursued. Personally, I would do better with web materials as they would assist even in narrowing topics down for the library search. Nonetheless, the web resources engage the latest articles and information on the subject, which may not be available in library material.
In effect then, I would say that both methods were complimentary in nature as none of them provided the most accurate information independent of each other. Search engines, while providing a lot of information into a topic, may not provide authoritative sources on the information. Nonetheless, published information restating the conclusions of web sources will give more credibility to any research.
In purely academic areas, however, formal resources such as books, journal articles, reports and conference proceedings will be considered more appropriate than web sources for the production of information. This is because of the legitimacy of such sources in being referred to as primary sources of information. In learning about the library, I learned about digitized journal articles that could be accessed simply by being on an institutional computer.
References
Alainn, R. (2016). How the Textbook Industry Tries to Hook Your Prof . Retrieved from Wired: https://www.wired.com/2016/05/textbook-industry-tries-hook-prof/
Band, J. (2013). THE CHANGING TEXTBOOK INDUSTRY . Retrieved from DiSco: http://www.project-disco.org/competition/112113-the-changing-textbook-industry/#.V_FmQZqKTMw
Fackler, M. (2015). U.S. Textbook Skews History, Prime Minister of Japan says. Retrieved from New York Times: http://cwjc.rnrc-us.org/News/012915_US%20Textbook%20Skews%20History,%20Prime%20Minister%20of%20Japan%20Says.pdf
Mitchell, J. (2014). A Tough Lesson for College Textbook Publishers . Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-tough-lesson-for-college-textbook-publishers-1409182139
National Association of College Stores. (2016). Higher Education Retail Market Facts & Figures . Retrieved from National Association of College Stores: https://www.nacs.org/research/industrystatistics/higheredfactsfigures.aspx
Opidee, J. (2014). College textbook forecast: Radical change ahead . Retrieved from University Business: https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/college-textbook-forecast-radical-change-ahead
Ross, T. (2015). The Death of Textbooks? Retrieved from The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-death-of-textbooks/387055/
Sewall, G. (2005). Textbook publishing. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(7) , 498.
Student Pirgs. (2007). Exposing the Textbook Industry . Retrieved from Student Pirgs: http://www.studentpirgs.org/reports/exposing-textbook-industry
