单选题 University textbooks cost an arm and a leg. This is seen not as opinion but as fact by all parties involved—students, professors, university bookstores, and even textbook publishers themselves. Depending on which studies you cite, the average college student will spend about $1,000 on classroom texts this year. That's a big jump from $900 two years ago, and an increase of a whopping 40% since 2000, when figures were around $700. In some cases, students attending low-cost community and state colleges are actually spending more on books than they are on tuition each semester.
Fortunately, though, efforts are being made to ease the textbook burden for students—and their parents, who are often responsible for paying the bills. A law was passed during the last legislative session aimedat providing reduced-cost textbook alternatives. For example, the law dismantles so-called textbook "packages," which include DVDs, workbooks, and other superfluous material, requiring publishers to also offer the book for sale by itself. In addition, publishers must send professors updated pricing information before each semester begins, so that they may decide on essential readings taking into account the economic strain on students.
New businesses are also stepping in to provide relief. Textbook rental agencies lend out new or lightly used books to students for the semester for sometimes less than half of the purchase price. Also, many publishers are starting to offer e-book versions of their texts, available chapter by chapter.