3 ms·

>Anything a textbook manufacturer wants to do other than be a set of dead tree leaves is a non-starter. Why?

• deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
• bsder 3y ago
  Because anything other than being dead tree leaves is an attempt to increase the publisher's margins rather than improve my course pedagogy. Online quizzes are one-shot and time limited--it's merely coincidence that they prevent you from reselling the book, right? Anything "online" is only "online" as long as the servers are being maintained (read: profitable). "Renting" a book means it can get pulled from your hands at any time. "Online" means you have to cough up (sometimes quite a lot) of personal information to register for access. I can go on and on. On the other hand, several copies of dead tree leaves can be placed in the library on reserve. You can resell dead tree leaves, and you can buy used dead tree leaves (any of the books I require for class are classic books--they have reference value to others as well as for my class). Sure, unencumbered PDFs would be as good as dead tree leaves (maybe better as they are more searchable). I just haven't seen a textbook publisher provide one--ever.