September 4, 2008
A Cat-and-Mouse Tale of Textbook Piracy Continues
A college student out there somewhere on the Internet has been facing off against textbook publishers in recent months, with both sides claiming the moral high ground in the latest phase of illegal file sharing on campus.
The student calls himself Geekman (he refuses to give his real name or location for fear of legal action against him), and he runs a directory of online books called Textbook Torrents. Ever since The Chronicle first wrote about the site, publishers have taken steps to enforce their copyrights and keep the site from encouraging the trading of their books.
A representative from a publisher contacted the Internet service hosting the Textbook Torrents site and demanded its removal for violating copyright law, and in response the hosting company shut down the site, said Geekman, in an e-mail interview. That was in late July, and it looked like a clean victory for the publishers, who say the site is encouraging theft, pure and simple. But Textbook Torrents was back online a few days later, on a different Web-hosting company, and Geekman posted a taunting message on the Web site that he couldn’t be stopped that easily.
The site is only one of many similar Web sites promising free books for download—making the owners of the sites some income from Web advertisements sold there. But Textbook Torrents is clearly in publishers’ crosshairs.
Peter Anaman, senior Internet investigations manager for Covington & Burling, which has been hired by the Association of American Publishers to look for book piracy, said the investigators had tracked the origin of the site and were taking action. “I don’t think he will last very long,” said Mr. Anaman about Geekman. “He’s probably not going to last more than 48-hours.”
And soon after, the site was taken down again.
But Geekman put it back up somewhere else. And in recent days, the latest company hosting the Textbook Torrent Web site, which is located in Amsterdam, removed most of the site (the discussion forums on the site remain active).
“The resounding success of the site speaks volumes about the validity of our opinions, something which the publishers would do well to heed,” said Geekman, in an e-mail interview today. “Of course, their reaction will be the predictable brute-force approach which completely fails to get the point. We plan to be around for longer than 48 hours.”
He said the whole site will be back online by the end of the week. “We’re currently making preparations for a more permanent setup,” he said.
Meanwhile, there are more signs that students are looking online for free pirated copies of books. And some publishers report fewer sales of new books this year.—Jeffrey R. Young
Posted on Thursday September 4, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Students are tired of being gouged. We’re tired of bookstore policies that make it difficult to buy texts anywhere but on campus. If we can’t get the books at reasonable prices, we turn to alternatives.
Wake up publishers. Shutting down a few sites won’t stop this. You’re following the same path as the MPAA, and we all know how successful they’ve been.
— S. David Sep 4, 05:17 PM #
Sorry, while certainly a case can be made that textbook publishers are greedy with their frequent “new” editions and high cost, students are adding to the problem by refusing to buy books and insisting that courses be run without them. Many won’t buy all the books required or even the compilations that prof. puts together. The result at one school I worked for was that the school bookstore refused to order more than 75% of the books ordered, and refused to make or stock article compilations. The students, however, still have cars, new clothes and trips to bars and the beach.
— A. DeAngelis Sep 4, 06:22 PM #
It will be interesting to see if the same thing that has happened to the music industry and CD sales happens, to the textbook industry. My guess would be that the writing is on the wall for textbook publishers, due to the increasing number of textbook file sharing sites hosted in foreign countries, the tremendous popularity of the same, and the high prices of textbooks. Not to mention that open source is increasingly making textbooks legally free to students.
Too many of my students have to resort to getting photocopies of the textbooks from classmates—or buy the book and return if after copying it— because of their inability to purchase so many expensive textbooks. I know textbook authors and publishers must make a living too, but surely some sort of compromise can be made rather than trying to stem the flow with forceful legal measures that, long-term, are probably fated to fail anyhow.
— Trudy Sep 4, 06:30 PM #
As a member of the publishing industry I have to point out the obvious: publishers are providing a service – copy-editing, production, marketing, etc. No service comes for free and the smaller to medium sized presses certainly don’t turn a large profit. Authors may (and some do) post their books online for free without submitting them to publishers. But fewer people would know about those books and the manuscripts would be full of all kinds of errors (as they often are upon submission).
Piracy hurts an industry that ultimately aims to bring well-organized, well-presented material to the classroom. If piracy really won’t go away, don’t be surprised if book quality goes down.
— AB Sep 4, 08:33 PM #
I haven’t had a hard time finding my textbooks on Amazon.com, used, for half price or cheaper.I do think that textbook authors should have pity on students and not put out so many new editions every year.
— Doris Sep 4, 09:01 PM #
Don’t underestimate the ingenuity of publishers. When push comes to shove, and the end of the spiral that motivates publishers to issue new editions more frequently so as to offset used book sales arrives, the result is likely to be that students will have no choice but to purchase textbooks that publishers provide online only for the duration of the class. They will then have no “used” textbooks to sell. Remember that, unlike the music business, it is not students who make the choice about textbooks to buy; the teachers assign them. So their options are far more limited when it comes to alternatives—and will be less so when everything moves online.
— Sandy Thatcher Sep 5, 07:44 AM #
I see no justification for new textbooks running from $100.00 to $200.00, especially when you can’t get even half for that book from the bookstore. Even the used books can be $70.00 to $110.00 per book. If it weren’t for college there is no way I would pay that much for anything. My school books can run over half my tuition and it keeps getting more expensive. Enough already.
— Becca Sep 5, 07:47 AM #
Textbook publishers have gouged the public for years. Thankfully technology has finally caught up to them and now maybe they’ll follow the way of the music industry. It’s their own fault they are now finally getting payback…
— Otis Sep 5, 08:27 AM #
The future of college texts may well lie in Open Access. The Rice University ‘Collaborative Statistics’ project is a good example of one approach, and there are many other possibilities.
— Cy Dillon Sep 5, 08:40 AM #
I think that textbook publishers might have avoided this situation if, years ago, they had broken textbooks down into smaller units that were reasonably priced and that could have been assembled in different combinations according to the needs of an individual course. It was the back-breaking whopper textbooks that first started to cause this havoc. Now, unfortunately, it will be very hard for publishers to turn back the clock.
— Judith Ryan Sep 5, 09:40 AM #
It is important to put the cost of textbooks in context. As a market researcher specializing in college students, most folks don’t realize that college students spend 53% more for their cellular telephone service that what they spend for textbooks.
We see no evidence of student resistence to the cost of cellular telephone service as their spending continues to increase.
— STUDENT MONITOR Sep 5, 10:00 AM #
“Gouging” is the red-herring argument used by people who want something for free. These people aren’t willing to pay even a “reasonable” price. They want it for free. The problem could be resolved by rolling the cost of books into the fees students pay to enroll in a class. There would be some details to work out such as whether to price them as new books or used or something in between but it doesn’t need to be another MPAA.
— Bill Sep 5, 10:38 AM #
The complaints from this “something for nothing crowd” are a symptom of what’s wrong with higher education today. Not only do students typically want everything free or at cut rate, they often also want to put in a minimum of time and do a minimum of work. To many faculty members cave into this. I have consistently chosen the best tools for my students to learn with and, by using careful assessments, make sure they use those tools. In terms of text books, that means they buy new new editions because the science I teach is moving forward very fast, with new information and technological innovation that require a new treatment every three years or so. My students initially whine and complain but when all is said and done they have consistently appreciated the rigor and comprehensiveness of my courses and the fact that I put together an intellectually stimulating course package from which they could learn effectively. It is a mistake to allow intellectually unsophisticated students to make our curricular choices for us. Professors need to continue to assign the best books and the publishing industry needs to enforce its right to protect intellectual property so the best books continue to be produced.
— Jim Sep 5, 11:09 AM #
I don’t think publishers are gouging – I think most people underestimate the cost pf publishing high-quality texts that sell in very small numbers.
That said, this situation can’t go on. Alternatives MUST be found – probably online through print on demand – and they MUST be lower cost for students. Otherwise, you’ll see even more student workarounds to buying texts.
— Al Sep 5, 01:10 PM #
Regarding Judith Ryan’s comment about publishers breaking down books into units that can me assembled on a per course basis—it’s been done for years. Publishers like it because the resale market is so much smaller for these custom-published books. See, e.g., www.pearsoncustom.com. Note that if publishers can erase the resale market, they can charge less for a new book.
— Mark Sep 5, 01:35 PM #
People who claim it is a problem with the students wanting “something for nothing” are unaware of the situation.
When the costs of texts exceed the cost of tuition, when the cost of texts are more expensive than the largest meal plan for a resident, when the costs of texts books are the exact same as a single room in a Residence Hall, then we have a problem.
— S. David Sep 5, 02:13 PM #
During the 2007-2008 academic year, on average, four-year full-time undergraduates spent $597 for textbooks.
With respect to S. David’s comment (above) I would be curious to identify those schools with an annual tuition cost of less than $597, schools with a annual meal plan cost of less than $597 and schools with a room cost of less than $597.
— STUDENT MONITOR Sep 5, 04:15 PM #
I completely agree that textbooks have gotten out of hand, with more content that most 16-week semesters can cover, more expensive graphics and glossy pictures than necessary (although people assure me that students want textbooks with pictures, I believe it is a little insulting. Anyone beyond the fourth grade should be able to read a book without pictures), frequent new editions, internet access keys that can’t be resold with the book, bundled books, and all these other things that drive up the cost of the books.
However, I am really disturbed by people who reason that they have an inalienable right to steal textbooks because 1) the textbooks are expensive, and 2) technology makes stealing relatively easy. It is even more disturbing when the additional justification is tacked on, “It’s not like I am even going to read the book.” This is hardly a situation that justifies civil disobedience, and I really doubt that Thoreau, King, or Gandhi would want to be ideologically associated with students who steal pirated textbooks, or worse yet, who post the textbooks.
Perhaps the whole conversation needs to get off the well-beaten path of “woe is us, the books are expensive” or “woe is us, students keep using file sharing.” There have to be creative solutions to the problem. The first one that comes to my mind is to resurrect some practices from previous centuries and countries in which students don’t have as much disposable wealth as in the US—study groups. In the middle ages, the book in the library was the only book available, so students would huddle around it, taking turns reading out loud. Through the twentieth century, in times when textbooks were scarce and expensive, groups of students would buy one copy and circulate it. I have often suggested to my students that they could combine the two approaches: two students share one book, each do half the assigned reading, and fill each other in on the parts they didn’t read. I have heard that that strategy is common in law schools.
Another possible solution is to resurrect the Reserved Reading Room—not the electronic reserve, which is just a hair’s breadth off from file sharing from the publisher’s perspective, but the actual room in the library. Would students be willing to do all their studying in the library if it would save them up to $600 a semester? Seems like a really small sacrifice to me, and as a professor, I would be willing to adjust how I run class to account for the students’ inability to bring the textbook with them.
— SB Sep 5, 11:13 PM #
Stealing textbooks is wrong, whether it be from the college bookstore or from a web site. I see two problems here: ethics & priorities.
ETHICS: I just finished my section on ethics in my Advanced Selling course, hmmm, what would that commitment to ethics, or the student code of conduct at our university say about a student coming to class with a stolen book (because that is what it is).
PRIORITIES: Students would rather spend their money on cell phone service, cars, trips to the bar and clothes, but it doesn’t make those the right priorities.
As a faculty in a business college, the issue is just a manifestation of the problem we have trying to train future business leaders: warped views on ethics, and poor ability to appropriately prioritize.
— Jim Sep 6, 10:20 AM #
I love how the textbook industry is trying to rationalize the pricing for their textbooks. Consider that they do not disclose their pricing strategies to take the pressure off themselves. Furthermore, I love how the discussion is at the problem of the students and not the publishers themselves. Go ahead and blame a student that who bought a pillow or blanket. Likewise, don’t forget to out them for buying a laptop or other necessary device for minimal campus living. But do not include textbooks into the discussion. Personally, I think $600/year is a underplayed amount. That is only for 1 semester. Congress reports that the number is upwards to $900/year. Also, in regards to your ‘statistics’, don’t you know that 73% of statistics are made up on the spot? Cite your sources otherwise such statistics are purely comical.
Professors are also believe textbooks are overpriced. I guess I could justify the cost for such a piece if the book didn’t claim any responsibility for its content despite its best efforts. That means you can buy elements for your car with more reliability and less the cost.
Here, here, do away with textbooks. Or at least do away with requiring textbooks for class. Shouldn’t the professor’s notes be good enough? If the publishers aren’t listening to their base, that students want cheaper textbooks, just go elsewhere.
— Jake Sep 7, 10:58 PM #
Way to go Geeks, keep up the good work
— Jock Sep 8, 01:03 AM #
Digital textbooks can already be cheaper for the student. One major academic publisher allows online access and rental of any ebook (including textbooks) for any period between one day and a year, at a much smaller cost than the full download-to-own price. This more than offsets the cash a student gets from selling his/her textbook second hand at the end of the semester.
Textbook Torrents’ strapline is: Because you can’t torrent beer. Well you can’t rent beer at much lower cost either, but now you can do both for textbooks, but the latter is legal and fair!
— Mark Sep 8, 10:12 AM #
So many of the “gimme” generation feel that paying a few hundred dollars for textbooks is such an onerous burden that it justifies stealing. How pathetic. I am an author of a major atlas, and spend hundreds of hours preparing an upgraded edition every 7 or 8 years. I do not do it for the money, as I donate the royalties to charitable causes in which I believe. I continue to author the text because I believe that it is important to provide the latest information, the best technology, and most current and applicable use to help students prepare for a rapidly changing field (medicine). I have found the publisher to be very reasonable in trying to keep the price down in order to encourage sales. I am not sure why the publishing industry has been particularly selected for attack regarding pricing- why not attack the phone services, handheld electronic devices, car prices, designer clothes prices, rent in areas around campuses, the high cost of bar tabs at favorite watering holes, etc? I view the attitude of “I deserve something for nothing” and “if the price is not to my suiting, I will steal it” to be the logical extension of the bankrupt moral relativism and political/cultural correctness that has pervaded the US educational system, especially universities, for several decades. I am surprised and grateful that there are still professors and scholars willing to write textbooks.
— David Sep 8, 11:54 AM #