Yesterday, the OUSA Executive and Home Office staff attended a joint meeting of students and textbook publishers, hosted by the Canadian Publishers’ Council. Representatives from the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA), College Student Alliance (CSA), and publishing firms including Wiley, Nelson, Elsevier Canada, Pearson and McGraw-Hill were in attendance. The Canadian Publishers’ Council (CPC) is Canada’s main English language book publishing trade association.
We began with a review of the textbook publishing process and a discussion of recent trends in the industry. For instance, it was reported that the trend of ‘bundling’ academic materials – the packaging of textbooks with their counterpart materials – is declining as students and professors want more flexibility. To address the issue of textbook costs, a presentation was given on the general breakdown of the price of a textbook, including 30 – 40% to editorial work, 20 – 25% to sales, marketing, and administration, 10 – 15% for author royalties, and 20 – 30% stemming from bookstore costs and mark-ups.
It was also indicated that greater sums are being invested into the development of faculty tools and instructor support, including lesson plans, test banks, and presentation materials, because there is an increasing demand for these add-ons. As faculty workloads increase and more sessional lecturers are hired with little time to prepare their own materials, what was once work paid for through tuition fees and government grants is being outsourced to publishers. The reality is that all resources spent on producing a textbook and accompanying materials, whether for the purposes of the student or teacher, are paid for by the student. These added costs are included, despite whether the teacher will use the additional resources and whether the student wants them.
Although most students are not aware, it is important to note that textbooks can often be purchased in other formats a reduced cost, including the e-book version and the chapter-by-chapter version, providing the opportunity to purchase individual chapters online.
The issue of the application of HST to e-textbooks was also discussed at length. While Nova Scotia has exempted all e-textbooks from their harmonized tax, Ontario and BC have only provided exemptions for hard copy textbooks. For no apparent reason, the e-versions are all subject to the full HST. This is concerning due to the overall increase in demand by students for online learning materials and e-books, and will continue to be an issue that OUSA will consider for the future.
The CPC has created a website for students to visit and gather some understanding around the textbook publishing industry. This website can be found at www.textbookoptions.ca and is also accessible through the OUSA website.
Overall, the meeting was very beneficial, offering the opportunity for students and textbook publishers to discuss the issues that have traditionally created polarization between our two groups. We look forward to continuing a positive and collaborative relationship in the future.
Meaghan Coker
OUSA President
