College textbooks have long been printed on large presses with very large print runs that are based upon the calculated number of copies of the text likely to be sold in a year or more's time. As a general rule, the more copies printed at one time, the lower the cost for each individual book. The cost savings of larger print runs are balanced against warehousing requirements, capital expenditures, and the risk of not being able to sell all the copies printed. These printing methods have allowed publishers to produce beautifully illustrated and designed textbooks at reasonable prices, but with serious compromises.

Two of these compromises have been in currency and flexibility. Because of the long production process involved in creating a textbook, limits are placed on how much updating can be done as the text moves through the pipeline. This may not cause great problems in producing a math text, but it can be a serious issue in the social or natural sciences. Most political science texts are thrown out of date each time an election occurs or when global events take a sudden turn. In medicine, biology and psychology, new research is being published so rapidly that many texts are out of date before they even come off the presses. And because of the printing process described above, it may be several years before a new edition of the text can be published.

Traditional textbooks have a certain number of chapters or units organized and paged in a particular order with little opportunity for a student or faculty member to choose what they will work with. In recent years, instructors have considered paperback books, printed books of readings, and course packs to have more input into their course materials, but traditional textbooks continue to play a major role in college courses. These texts offer many advantages, but currency and flexibility are compromised in the process.

Publishers such as Ginn, Burgess, Kendall-Hunt, and McGraw-Hill with its Primis system have offered faculty the opportunity to custom publish books of readings, lab manuals or even alternate versions of some textbooks for their specific courses. Until now, however, no publisher has been able to offer a textbook designed specifically to be printed and bound on demand for each individual adopter and offering a broader array of chapters than could be contained in any standard book.

Now, Brown & Benchmark has produced a fourth edition of Psychology by John Santrock that is a unique departure. While most introductory psychology textbooks have 12 to 18 chapters, this new edition gives instructors the opportunity to construct their own book from an extensive menu of 30 chapters. Typical coverage and sequence can be organized around individual course needs, adding instructors' own material if they wish. And students appreciate this cost-effective alternative because they will pay only for the chapters that are assigned. Using Xerox DocuTech equipment, each textbook is printed and paged on demand with the appropriate chapters in the order chosen by the instructor.

Although the technology used to create Psychology is cutting edge, the idea emerged long before. In 1996, Wm. C. Brown published a textbook called An Introduction to Psychology: A Self-Selection Textbook. It was an authoritative but flexible textbook based on he tenet that the principal responsibility for the beginning course should be placed where it belongs -- with the instructor. Alas, the idea was ahead of its time.

Now, in revising his Psychology for its fourth edition, John Santrock has created a menu of 30 chapters -- a lot more than the 17 in his previous edition. He began by writing several completely new chapters on topics such as gender and sexuality, interpersonal communication, industrial and organizational psychology and career development. He then created several additional new chapters by combining subjects that had previously been handled in separate chapters. So the revised menu now includes separate chapters on the subjects of learning and memory and a combined chapter that covers both topics. This allows instructors a real choice as to how much time they devote these topics.

Several content experts were brought in to help create separate new chapters that had been combined in the previous edition. As an ax example, the combined chapter on perception was revised by the author first, then content experts helped him write two new chapters that treated sensation and perception separately. This process allowed for variations in chapter coverage while providing for a standardized pedagogical system and a single author voice and writing style. Development of additional chapters to supplement the menu is underway. Each potential adopter receives a three-ring binder containing all 30 chapters. Using a special order form in consultation with their sales rep, an instructor can examine each chapter in the menu and then choose the specific chapters to include in his or her book, and choose the order in which those chapters appear.

Each text is custom printed to fit the individual needs of its adopter. Besides printing any chapters from the menu in whatever order is most suitable, adopters can include their own syllabus, class notes,. or chapters of the student study guide to create a comprehensive learning tool. Each textbook will be consecutively paged, with complete index, table of contents, and glossary. The price of the text is based on the number of chapters chosen from the menu. Students will pay only for those chapters selected by their instructor, often resulting in a significant savings.

The book itself is black and white with color art and photographs at the back. Black-and-white photos and illustrations appear abundantly throughout the text. Each text can be bound in a variety of ways, including paper, plastic comb or case binding. John Santrock and Brown & Benchmark have worked hard to harness new technologies to create a unique departure from standardized textbooks. With many adopters already using this new customized teaching tool, we're encouraged about the future of customized textbook publishing.

Our CourseWorks Publishing unit is already exploring possibilities for printing Psychology and other texts on demand at local sites across the country. As textbook publishing adapts to changing technology and a changing marketplace, new opportunities will appear for authors, instructor and the many students who use our educational products.

READER LETTER:
Received November 10, 1997:

Dear Mr. Lange:

I read with interest your commentary on the "new" capability of the Brown and Benchmark psych text, which allows instructors to select the book they want from a menu of chapters. In fact, Primis, McGraw-Hill's electronic database publishing system, has always had the capability you attribute to the Brown and Lange project. Primis is not a traditional custom pub operation. It allows instructors to pick and choose chapters and have them bound with their own materials. As the developer of one of the English databases for Primis, I would be happy to tell you more about it. However, for the record, please know that Primis beat Brown and Brownmark to the draw by quite a few years. I hope you have the opportunity to set the record straight.

Barbara Clouse