February
10, 2006
Textbook reseller
banned from northeastern college campus
When a textbook
reseller inquired about purchasing instructors' complimentary copies
on a northeastern college campus (which asked not to be named) recently,
a faculty member (who also asked not to be named) was incensed by the
prospect of annotated instructor editions that would contain answers
to homework exercises assigned from the text being in circulation among
students.
Since the college
has a policy prohibiting the purchase and sale of instructor's annotated
copies, the faculty member, who is a textbook author, contacted the
campus police to alert them to this violation of campus policy. A police
detective then contacted the company representative and told him that
he was not allowed on campus and would be subject to arrest for trespassing.
The faculty member
observed that the problem may continue; such companies buy from faculty
through internet sites and sell direct to students, bypassing the campus
bookstore where campus policies can prevent the reselling of annotated
copies.
"I am proud that
my school has a policy in place and that the police response was exactly
what was needed. I hope that all colleges will adopt such policies and
that companies and professors that sell instructors' annotated editions
could be put out of business," said the faculty member. "This is one
contributor to the rising cost of textbooks that could be eliminated
easily if all colleges would adopt and enforce such a policy."
The faculty member
had a colleague contact the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA)
about whether there was anything that can be done about the practice
of selling annotated instructors' editions. TAA has long held the problems
of complimentary copies and used textbooks to be among the most worrisome
and aggravating of the profession, said Richard T. Hull, TAA's executive
director.
"We applaud this
northeastern college for having a policy that prohibits the purchase
and sale of instructor's annotated copies and for enforcing it," he
said.
This problem is
one that occurs with some regularity said Hull. Last fall TAA received
a complaint from Susan Cratty, a graduate student at Cal State, San
Marcos, who said she had received a desk copy book from Barnes &
Noble. The company had charged her $50 for the book, a used and clearly
marked academic review book. Cratty refused the book and returned it
to the company. Hull subsequently sent Barnes & Noble a letter asking
them to cease selling instructors' annotated editions. He received no
response.
TAA has been studying
the problem of the sale of complimentary copies for several years, said
Hull, and created a plan in 1988 for solving the problem that included
creating a method for identifying such copies that would be unalterable;
requiring that complimentary copies be accompanied by a license agreement
that specifies restrictions on its use; and facilitating the return
of unwanted copies by sending along an SASE with each complimentary
copy.
"Clearly, this
is a problem that won't go away," said Hull. "This faculty member's
recent experience is but the latest in a long series of incursions by
market-driven values that are not tempered by the realities of the classroom.
TAA suggests that campuses adopt policies to ban resellers of annotated
instructors' copies from their campus, and educate their faculty and
students about the long-term benefits that the new policy will have
for the educational community."
For more information
about TAA's efforts to curb the sale of annotated instructors' copies,
visit TAA's Media Center here
for Richard Hull's "Stomp the Comp" article.
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Hull Interviewed
by Illinois Publication Regarding Textbook Bundling
In a recent interview
with Kate Clements, a reporter with the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois News-Gazette,
regarding the issue of textbook bundling, TAA Executive Director Richard
Hull said that textbook authors oppose legislative initiatives designed
to limit the cost of textbooks and the materials they are bundled with
for three reasons: 1) Those initiatives are often the results of pressure
groups like PIRG that don't fully understand the problem; 2) Legislatures
don't have any business trying to shape educational policy and practice
at the level of textbook bundling; and 3) The responsibility for academic
matierlas lies with textbook authors, publishers, and the professors
that select them for their classes.
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Wakefield to
meet with Chilean textbook official
John Wakefield
TAA President |
TAA President John
Wakefield will meet with Teresa Sota Aguayo from the Textbooks Department
of the Chilean Ministry of Education in Huntsville, Alabama in April
as part of her research on the North American (United States and Canadian)
textbook selection process.
Before moving into
administration at the University of North Alabama, Wakefield was a professor
of education for 22 years, served on the Alabama State Textbook Committee
for Reading and English, and published articles in the American Library
Association's "Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom" and "Writers' Digest"
about the textbook adoption process.
Aguayo contacted
Wakefield in February by e-mail saying she would be flying to the US
and Canada in April to meet with specialists who work in and/or investigate
the textbook selection process and who would be interested in sharing
their knowledge with her.
"Some of the aspects
we would like to hear about are: Are there different kinds of textbooks,
depending on different needs (curricular basis; methodologies; educational
system; teachers formation; and so on)?" she said. "What are they based
on (programs, other materials)? Who are they for (students, teachers)?"
Aguayo also asked
Wakefield to recommend others who could help her. He suggested she speak
with Mike Sullivan, TAA past-president and a prolific math textbook
author who is well-connected with the publishing industry.
TAA invited researcher
Christopher Stream, an assistant professor of Public Administration
at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas last year to write a grant proposal
to research textbook adoptions and policies. Stream gave a presentation
of his preliminary research at the TAA Convention in Las Vegas in June
2005. To view Stream's PowerPoint presentation and the transcript from
his convention presentation, click
here (members-only access).
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TAA Members Give
Gift Memberships
TAA member Jay Pasachoff
and TAA Executive Director Richard Hull each gave a gift membership
to TAA in January. Pasachoff gave a gift membership to Magnus Bernhardsson.
Hull gave a gift membership to Robert Ginsberg. Consider giving a gift
membership to someone you think would benefit from TAA by filling out
the gift membership portion on your member
renewal form, or by calling Janet Tucker, TAA's office manager at
(727) 563-0020 or TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
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TAA Foundation
hires Hull as quarter-time executive director
The TAA Council
approved a $15,000 annual grant to the TAA Foundation to hire Richard
Hull as its quarter-time executive director. Hull currently works part-time
as TAA's executive director.
Hull's first job
as TAAF executive director will be to formulate a proposal for the staff
time needed to support his work on behalf of the Foundation.
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TAA
Launches Three Weblogs
TAA has launched
three weblogs: a general discussion weblog of textbook and academic
authoring issues open to everyone; an executive director's weblog by
TAA Executive Director Richard Hull; and a Members-Only weblog where
TAA members can network with each other, ask questions of TAA's volunteer
leadership or staff, and/or discuss text and academic authoring issues.
The dialogue has already started! All three weblogs can be accessed
through the TAA home page. If you need any
help accessing the weblogs or posting to them, contact Weblog Moderator
Chris Harris at crharris@mtsu.edu.
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Hull Interviewed
by Illinois Publication Regarding Textbook Bundling
In a recent interview
with Kate Clements, a reporter with the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois News-Gazette,
regarding the issue of textbook bundling, TAA Executive Director Richard
Hull said that textbook authors oppose legislative initiatives designed
to limit the cost of textbooks and the materials they are bundled with
for three reasons: 1) Those initiatives are often the results of pressure
groups like PIRG that don't fully understand the problem; 2) Legislatures
don't have any business trying to shape educational policy and practice
at the level of textbook bundling; and 3) The responsibility for academic
matierlas lies with textbook authors, publishers, and the professors
that select them for their classes.
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TAA Member Featured
in Wikipedia
TAA member William
Stallings, author of several computer science textbooks, has an entry
in the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
His entry mentions the six awards he has received from TAA for his computer
science and engineering textbooks and includes a link to the TAA website.
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Two Seats Open
on TAA Council
Two Council positions
are currently open on the TAA Council, the organization's governing
body. Nomination forms were mailed to members this week. Deadline for
nominations is March 1. Ballots will be mailed to members by March 15.
The deadline for receipt of ballots is April 15. Council members are
expected to attend two Council meetings per year, one in January, and
one held the day before the TAA Convention (in June or July). Council
members are reimbursed for their travel expenses. For more information
about the roles and responsibilities of serving on the TAA Council,
contact TAA President John Wakefield at jwakefie@msn.com.
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Workshop Presenter
Honorarium Raised
At its winter meeting
in St. Pete Beach, Florida on January 16, the TAA Council approved a
$500 increase in the honorarium it provides its workshop presenters.
The change raises the honorarium to $1,000. TAA also covers the presenter's
travel expenses to and from a workshop site. In addition to the honorarium
paid by TAA, workshop presenters are free to negotiate institutional
fees separately from the fees TAA pays them. TAA also covers the presenter's
travel expenses to and from a workshop site. TAA's honorarium and coverage
of expenses is in support of its member recruitment program, which is
delivered through its sponsored workshops.
TAA sponsors a series
of workshops that have been held
on university campuses and at conventions and meetings nationwide. For
more information, or to learn more about how you can become a TAA workshop
presenter, contact TAA's Executive Director Richard Hull at rthull62@hotmail.com.
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Christopherson
Resigns as TAA Treasurer
Robert Christopherson
resigned as TAA Council treasurer just before the Council's January
16 winter meeting. He cited his many professional commitments as the
reason for his resignation. TAA President John Wakefield is searching
for a replacement.
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Second Year Dues
for Workshop-Recruited, Other Gift Members Now $30
The TAA Council
approved lowering second-year membership dues for workshop participants
and others who joined the organization through gift memberships, to
$30. These members will pay the regular $75 dues in their third year
of membership.
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TAA Attracted
372 New Members in 2005
In her report to
the TAA Council at its winter meeting in January, TAA Office Manager
Janet Tucker said the organization attracted 372 new members in 2005.
Twenty-seven of those were gift memberships. Thirty-two became members
through the TAA website. Authoring workshops, primarily those conducted
by Tara Gray, brought in the most new members: 272. Gray's pre-convention
workshop brought in 30 new members.
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TAAF To Offer
Up to $15,000 in Loans to Members Involved in Litigation
The TAA Council
approved authorizing grants of up to $15,000 to the TAA Foundation to
provide support to TAA members involved in litigation that would support
copyright protection.The Foundation's first request was for support
of photographer Christopher Harris' lawsuit against the (San Jose) Mercury
News, which published one of Harris' photographs without his permission.
The TAA Council is currently reviewing the request.
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Writer's Block:
How to Get Your Writer's Block into Remission
TAA Council Member
Don Collins, formerly the managing editor of mathematics at Merrill
Publishing Company, and now an associate professor of education at Western
Kentucky University and the author of seven texts, says since there
is no cure for writer's block, the best authors can do is to get it
into remission. Read Collins' Writer's Block essay, "How to get your
writer's block into remission" here.
Let us know what you think of his essay and/or consider writing your
own. Writer's Block is devoted to the experiences and issues of writing
and writers. Essays will be published on the TAA website and in a special
section in the TAA print newsletter, The Academic Author. Send your
essays to TAA Publications Editor Kim Pawlak at kmpawlak@centurytel.net.
Not a member? Join TAA now.
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2006
TAA Convention to be Held at Disney's Grosvenor Resort
The 2006 TAA Convention
will be held at the Grosvenor Resort in the Walt Disney World Resort
in Orlando, Florida, July 7-8. Hotel rates for convention attendees
are $99 per night (which includes a $9 resort fee; parking included).
This elegant hotel is on the trolley line and is within the Disney Resort.
Convention registration is $75 for members before May 1, $125 after;
registration for non-members is $125 before May 1, $175 after. Non-member
registration includes a one-year membership to TAA. The Awards Banquet
dinner, held Friday, July 7, is optional, and is an additional $45 per
person. To make a reservation at the Grosvenor Resort, call 1-800-624-4109.
Learn more about the Grosvenor Resort at http://www.grosvenorresort.com
To register for the convention contact Janet Tucker, TAA's Managing
Director, at (727) 563-0020 or register online using TAA's secure server
here.
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TAA newsletter
archive now online
A PDF archive of
TAA member newsletters, TAA Report and The Academic Author,
dating back to the summer of 1987, is now online in the TAA Members-Only
Member Center. The archive lists a table of contents for each issue.
Click
here to view the archive in the Members Only section
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New Form Allows
Online Donations to TAA Foundation
TAA has made it
easier than ever to make a donation to the TAA Foundation by creating
a secure online donation form. The form is accessible through the TAA
Foundation page, the TAA Notes page and the online new member/renewal
form. To make an online donation to the TAA Foundation, click
here. Your donation to the TAA Foundation will be matched $1 for
$1 by a $15,000 matching grant from TAA.
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Renew Your Membership
Online!
TAA has just launched
a new online member form that will allow members to renew online using
a secure server. The form can also be used by new members. Check it
out in the TAA Member Center here.
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