It?s almost universally agreed on at college campuses that textbooks are updated too frequently, and the updates don?t include any new information or really make the book any better. New editions are almost exclusively a way to sell more books. But what can you do about it?
Some of the professors at my school have decided to help. The math department has agreed to use the same edition for the next ten years. So books written to teach Calculus, a subject invented 300 years ago, will get a ten year run. I was able to buy a used Calculus textbook, and I?ll be able to sell it back at the end of the term. This is an excellent deal for me. Should we be worried about a sudden increase in panhandling as the authors of math textbooks are forced into the streets? It doesn?t concern me. There was a time long ago when authors only revised their books when new information needed to be added or a number of errors needed to be fixed. Chapter-shuffling every year is a relatively new idea.
If you?re a textbook author and you genuinely feel like you need to fix mistakes and add information you overlooked every year then maybe you?re in the wrong profession. Writing is a hard job, that?s why everyone isn?t doing it. If your subject hasn?t changed, but you?ve had to revise your book 7 times and you still haven?t gotten it quite right maybe it?s the author that needs to be updated.
I had to take a communication class this last term. The professor used a book that was two editions old. She is still using the 10th, the latest edition is the 12th. She didn?t order the new edition because she couldn?t find anything that was new or better.
Talk to your department heads and professors about continuing to use old editions. There are lots of old editions in great condition still floating around out there. I don?t see why we should put perfectly good books in a landfill and buy new ones.
Obviously there are some books that need to be updated. A text for any subject related to computers will need to be updated as new software and hardware is released. When archeologists make major discoveries those things should be added to history textbooks. I understand that nobody is perfect. I?m sure many authors read their book after it?s finished and groan at mistakes and things they should have done differently. I think one or two revisions are reasonable
There?s also the high cost of textbooks to consider. We?re told that it?s expensive to create books, but why are some excellent books apparently produced so much cheaper than crappy books. Here?s an example. For my programming classes the required book was Java Software Solutions by Lewis and Loftus. The book costs $90-$100 and it?s terrible. It uses a friendly compiler (jGRASP) and the examples are in color. Those are the only good things I can say about this book. The book I actually learned Java/programming from isJava: A Beginner?s Guide by Herbert Schildt. This book is fantastic and costs $25-$35. I highly recommend it. One more Java book I?ll mention is Head First Java by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates. I?ve heard excellent things about this book. It has way more reviews on Amazon.com than Java Software Solutions (109 vs 3). Head First Java?s average review is half a star higher than Java Software Solutions and it costs less than half as much. So talk to your professors. Point out the things you don?t like about your textbooks and recommend other ones.
The key here is students talking to professors. Ask them to continue using old editions. Recommend less expensive books. I think most professors will be open to this. If a professor is particularly obstinate about getting the new edition of a crappy book for no good reason then encourage students not to take his or her class. Also consider visiting RateMyProfessors.com and letting other people know which professors are open to listening to students and which aren?t