Students could soon have an alternative to buying textbooks from university bookstores if a nonprofit, online bookstore and a state representative get their way.
Rep. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, is working with XBooks, a Tallahassee-based, nonprofit company, to pass Florida House Bill 603, or the Florida Textbook Affordability Bill.
The bill was added to the Legislature's agenda this year.
The bill would require state colleges and universities to provide complete textbook information to students, including the editions and ISBN numbers, no later than 30 days before the first day of classes.
Audie Rowell, president and co-founder of XBooks, said if students don't receive that information until the first day of class, they have little time to find the best book prices.
Instead, Rowell said they're forced to buy overpriced books from bookstores that only aim to make a profit.
XBooks is an online bookstore that allows students to buy and sell books amongst themselves.
Rowell and his two partners don't profit from the Web site, he said. They only provide it.
Rowell, a 40-year-old returning student at Florida State University, said he first realized how overpriced textbooks were when he sold back an $85 book and received only $22 for it.
His experience pushed him to create XBooks, which allows students to sell books at whatever price they deem appropriate, he said. Rowell said he didn't think students would try to sell books at outrageous prices.
"That's what competition is all about," he said. "Competition drops down prices." XBooks also directs students to wholesalers who will buy outdated editions of textbooks that university bookstores won't take.
Rowell said he met Flores when he went to the state Legislature's office to address textbook affordability.
Flores had been working on a textbook affordability bill since she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2005.
Her bill originally proposed exempting textbooks from sales tax, but it didn't make it onto the Legislature's agenda in 2006 or 2007.
Together, Flores and XBooks representatives drafted a bill that would more specifically address the root of the problem.
Textbook prices have been drastically increasing over the years, Flores said, which discourages students from buying the necessary materials for class because they can't afford them.
"That's something that's just quite frankly unacceptable, and we're trying to do something about it," she said.
Flores said textbook affordability has never been addressed in Florida until now.
"It's not an issue that's at the top of every voter's mind because it only affects students," she said.
"But I think it's important for everyone to have a voice."
She said the Legislature would decide on the bill in late May.
"I feel pretty confident that we're going to get something passed," Flores said.
