VSU, a 129-year-old historically black college in Petersburg, Va., knows Martin isn't the only one. More than half of its students routinely skip buying textbooks. For a solution, the school is turning to e-textbooks. VSU partnered with Flat World Knowledge, a start-up publisher that produces exclusively written e-books with "open" content that can be modified by professors. With their promise of ubiquity, convenience and perhaps affordability, e-textbooks have arrived in fits and starts throughout college campuses. Despite emerging attempts at innovation, the industry has been slowed by clunky technology, the lasting appeal of print books, skeptical students who scour online for cheaper alternatives, and customer confusion stemming from too many me-too e-textbook platforms that have failed to stand out. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-16/ebook-textbook-sales/52603526/1
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