...the 33 percent discount. The initially generic card will be associated with a specific book at checkout, and the student can download the book in Adobe's Acrobat form to a single computer.
In the trial phase, an average of 30 books at each store will be available in digital form, chosen based on how widely the books are used and on whether the publishers own the digital rights to the texts. More books will be added later, Cohen said.
The digital form does have some advantages. The downloaded books can be searched by keyword and read out loud by the Adobe software, as well as highlighted and bookmarked.
They will expire after 150 days. But the publisher can change the setting if, for example, a text will be used over several semesters. Some restrictions on printing also apply, including a ban on printing the entire text at once.
Those usage rules, the product of negotiations with the big publishers, may change once the program is expanded to a larger audience, Cohen said. But for now, the restrictions mean that students won't be able to sell their books back to the bookstore, a traditional money-saving activity at the end of classes.
"This does have a life that's different," Cohen said. "It is what it is. It's getting the value up front."
Bookstore managers at the University of Utah and Princeton said that the program is being launched largely without consulting faculty or students on campus beforehand. At Utah, where the cards will be available beginning Tuesday, students have mixed reactions.
"It does sound like a cool idea," said Utah sophomore Jonathan Hayes. "For me, it would depend on the class and subject. If it was one that I was constantly reading, I'd buy the book. If it was one where I read just a couple chapters every week, but it was necessary, then I would consider it."
Digital liberties activists look at the programme with some scepticism, arguing that it could be a way for publishers to undermine the thriving used textbook market.
"As long as people have the choice (of printed books), it's not such a dangerous move," said Fred von Lohmann, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that has been critical of efforts to copy-protect academic works. "The real question is how long before publishers stop printing on paper. There is no doubt that publishers would like to move to a world where there is no used market for textbooks."
The digital books will be initially available at the University of Oregon, the University of Utah, Portland Community College, Bowling Green State University, Princeton University, Georgetown College, California State University-Fullerton, Morehead State University, and at privately owned stores serving West Virginia University and Louisiana State University.
