Students are digging deeper into their pockets this year to make up for rising textbook prices.

The average student attending a four-year public university spends about $900 on textbooks per year, according to a study published by the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO findings conclude that textbook prices have risen at an average of 6 percent per year since 1986. The addition of CD-ROMs and Web sites also may impact the increase in textbook prices.

The study also found college textbooks in the United States may be more expensive when compared to other countries because these are subject to the market conditions in each region.

Richard Davies, public relations manager for abebooks.com, sees an increasing trend toward purchasing textbooks online. “From last January [2004] we saw an increase of 400 percent,” Davies said.

Abebooks.com is an online market place, much like eBay, with a network of 9,000 independent bookstores. Located in British Columbia, Canada, abebooks.com hopes to increase awareness of its service by sending street teams to various college campuses in the United States. NIU is one of them.

With students adapting to technology, Davies believes they will be inclined to purchase their textbooks online and, in the future, other types of books as well.

Davies says publishers have had a fantastic market with students who are new to the system.

Senior marketing major Lindsay Senn purchases most of her books over the Internet because of the lower prices. Senn purchases textbooks from Amazon.com and Half.com.

“My roommate and I bought books for one of our classes for $45,” Senn said. “It’s such a steal.”

Anel Bautista, a senior double major in journalism and communication, purchases her books at the University Bookstore because of the convenience of the location.

“It’s just easier to get them through school,” she said.

Bautista would consider buying textbooks online if the books she needed were not available through the bookstores and if they were cheaper.

Don Turk, University Bookstore manager, has not seen a difference from last year. He also acknowledges that students search the Internet for books.

Turk also said buying books online has its own drawbacks: wrong editions, poor condition and not being able to return books.

“Sometimes for international books, we are unable to buy back,” he said.

Senn said the added cost for shipping does not impact the total price of the books.

“Even if shipping and handling is $6 or $7 it’s still a lot cheaper than at the bookstore,” she said.

Davies said the range of selection and the location of bookstores in different areas is valuable to students.

Due to an increasing trend in purchasing books online, partnering with eBooks may be a new alternative to purchasing textbooks altogether.

Turk explained the process is in a testing phase at other universities. It would consist of purchasing a card that will allow the student access to the textbook online for the duration of the semester.