Imagine reading assignments measured in megabytes rather than page count. eBooks, the latest trend in book buying, may save students money and paper cuts in the near future.

eBooks, digital books that can be purchased and downloaded to your computer, come in various formats and can even be edited or highlighted.

Bookstore

Don Turk, manager of the University Bookstore, said the store wanted to include eBooks this semester, but it wouldn’t have had enough time to adapt and the list of available texts was limited.

The bookstore would need support fees, software and installation to start carrying eBooks.

“If there were 50 or 100 [ebook titles], it would be worth it,” Turk said. “There may have been 100 books on the list of available books, but none we used in any of the university’s curriculum.”

Turk said the bookstore would sell the books for the suggested retail price from the publisher, but also said there is no real benefit for the bookstore to carry eBooks.

“It’s another choice for students,” Turk said. “There is no monetary value in it for the bookstore.”

Faculty

Faculty ultimately decide what book is used in each class.

“I don’t anticipate going to [eBooks] myself,” said associate communication professor Robert Brookey.

While it may be convenient to read eBooks on a home computer, students also may need a way to bring their eBooks to class.

Rather than carrying a bag full of books, students would have to invest in a laptop or an eBook reader.

Both can be costly options.

“The faculty would have to make sure every student would have a laptop or PDA,” Brookey said. “I’m not sure they could do that.”

Brookey said his own book was published as an eBook and it sold three times more than the paper copy.

Students

Lower prices and increased portability may entice some students, but others may still prefer their dog-eared pages.

“If it costs less, like a significant amount, it would be worth it,” said Monica Rudolph, a junior education major.

Rudolph also was concerned about how easy eBooks are to use and she was worried about reading from a computer monitor.

She said it was bad on her eyes.

“I can’t do it for long. I get headaches,” Rudolph said.

Mike Gruette, a junior biology and chemistry major, was skeptical about buying into the new technology.

“I usually don’t bring my books to class anyway so I probably wouldn’t [buy an eBook reader],” he said.