Florida State Colleges Offering Free Online Books

Education in today’s world is an expensive but worthwhile investment. Students have to first gravel to find school fees after which they still have to find money to purchase books for study. This however is about to change for many Florida college students as there is now a new initiative t reduce the cost of textbooks to Florida college students.

The Florida State University Board has commissioned a program in conjunction with the University Press of Florida and Orange Grove Text that will see several of the most popular textbooks used by Florida University students being placed online. Presently the program has 120 textbooks and scholarly papers posted online as a part of its pilot project to the response of both their systems and student reaction.

It is the hope of the University Press of Florida to eventually place at least free 1600 titles online for Florida College students. In a statement University of Florida Press stated that this entrepreneurial partnership intends to test uncharted waters in the book publishing industry. They hope to eliminate the dependency of scholars on publishing companies who hold all the strings when professors try to get their research material out to their student population. Professors will also be able to edit their work as they progress with their work. Students of the educational schools will be able to access these materials with just the click of a button.

Under this elaborate plan, Florida online book shops will allow students to go online and read all the textbooks they use for their normal coursework. They will be allowed to print parts or all of a downloaded book on their own. They also have the option of requesting a bounded copy of the same textbook at a significantly reduced price.

The theory behind the success of this proposition is that surveys have shown that 22% of students prefer not to read text material from a computer or laptop. In addition, while 33% said they did not mind reading from a computer screen they still preferred to read from the bounded full copy of a textbook rather than digital textbook and they would still purchase the discounted copy even though it was available online free. In addition, the cost of printing in small pieces may exceed that of the bounded full version.

In one case we saw a text titled Images of the Woman Reader in Victorian British and American Fiction” being sold for $60. Under the new Florida Free Book system, students can download the book free or request a bounded black and white copy for $29.50 or a color version for an additional $10.

Both authors and students are welcoming the Florida Free Book Program. According to reports the feedback from authors is that they will benefit from larger percentages when their books are sold under the Florida Free Book Program. A spokes person from the Orange Grove Press stated that the organization will pay royalties directly from all printed books sold under the program. Students will also enjoy the option of reading books online free and to be able to print only the sections they require. Online Students will also have access to Orange Grove’s immense storage of text, audio, video and illustrated resources.