The exponential increase in textbook costs for higher education students over the past decade has students, professors, publishers, and governments considering alternatives. One such alternative, Wikibooks, combines the open-source concept of Wikipedia with a more traditional textbook format. Although Wikibooks is yet to be adopted by the majority of professors, in an age of increasingly expensive textbooks, widespread Internet access with a plethora free information, and a more technologically savvy student population, it seems that the days of the paper textbook may be dwindling.
Although the free cost is perhaps the biggest selling point for students, this is not the only benefit Wikibooks can offer when compared to traditional textbooks. They are often easier to navigate, provide direct links to Wikipedia entries for further information, searchable, and can include other media such as videos and sound bytes that paper textbooks lack. Furthermore, in an age with increasing eco-awareness, Wikibooks are also a more environmentally friendly alternative since they require no paper, ink, shipping, storage, or stores to sell them in.
Despite the numerous benefits, there are still drawbacks to Wikibooks that have contributed to the industry’s limited adoption. For example, many of the books available are only half or partially finished, which limits the number of courses that could adopt them as a primary text. While these challenges can be overcome with minor changes or further development, the biggest obstacle is the professors themselves. For one, their widespread aversion towards Wikipedia and wiki-style resources and adherence to the peer-reviewed gold standard is almost universal. Secondly, perhaps the biggest element that plagues the adoption of Wikibooks is that it does not provide professors with the ancillary tools that publishing companies provide for free when their textbook is selected.
Regardless of the stigma associated with Wikibooks there are several noteworthy adoptions that demonstrate the feasibility of this alternative. Three professors have effectively used Wikibooks as the principal text in education courses at the Old Dominion University and in business courses at the University of Denver. Another similar example is an introductory sociology textbook written by Ryan T Cragun of the University of Cincinnati. Wikibooks have also proven successful in niche markets that are too small for traditional textbooks to be a profitable enterprise for large publishing companies, such as a Hebrew textbook in information systems.
Despite the merits of Wikibooks and the successful example of their adoption, they currently do not pose a big threat to higher education publishers due to the conservative attitudes of many professors, and their reliance on the ancillary materials provided by publishing companies. However, if Wikibooks were altered to be more acceptable to professors they could emerge as a viable alternative to traditional paper textbooks. In order to preempt this potential competition, current publishing houses should re-evaluate their products and production models to incorporate the advantages of Wikibooks while maintaining the standards that professors rely on.
