The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, an independent panel that advises Congress, will release a long-anticipated report on Friday on the high cost of college textbooks.

The report will describe a “structural flaw in the market for textbooks” — that it is driven by supply, not demand — and will warn that short-term improvements in affordability will not solve the problem, the committee hinted in a statement issued on Wednesday. Among its recommendations will be building a “national digital marketplace,” like one already in existence on some California State University campuses, that promotes new-media options like the electronic delivery of interactive textbooks.

The report was commissioned by Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, a Republican from California, and Rep. David Wu, a Democrat from Oregon. The committee, which held three public hearings on textbook costs, delivered the report to Congress last week and will post it online on Friday.

In the past year many state legislatures have considered or passed measures to make textbooks more affordable. The State Public Interest Groups and student organizations have pushed for continued action. Several colleges have also taken steps to reduce textbook costs. —Sara Lipka