Letter: Costs of textbooks is prohibitive - chicagotribune.com

"Students are getting ripped off, plain and simple. Every college student knows what it is like to see an outrageous $200 price tag on a required textbook. According to the College Board, the average student spends $1,200 on books and supplies each year, and publishers keep costs high by pumping out new editions and selling books bundled with unnecessary software. A survey released by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund showed that 65 percent of student consumers have opted out of buying a college textbook due to its high price, and nearly half say that textbook costs can dictate whether they take a course ..."