Digital textbooks surge in popularity with students due to affordability, wider availability, and additional features for studying.

Digital textbooks, also called e-books, have had a rise in availability in the campus bookstore this year and students are taking advantage of the availability.

“The percent of our title base that offers the e-book option is about 40 percent. Last year it was about 27 percent,” James Yang, course material manager II, said.

The increased availability of digital textbooks results from the upward trend in their popularity with students.

Digital textbooks purchases increase every year, and are set to hit 18.8 percent of total textbook sales this year, according to a projection by onlineeducation.net.

Digital textbook rentals have been steadily climbing in the year that he has worked in the MSU bookstore, according to James Yang.

The bookstore stocks both, rentable and purchasable textbooks, with an emphasis on the rentable versions.

“About 70 percent of our digital textbooks are rentable with a 180-day subscription,” Yang said.

Digital textbooks offer a variety of advantages over traditional textbooks, and even some features that demonstrate the utility that the internet offers to students.

In respect to digital textbooks being more affordable than physical textbooks, “It’s on a title by title basis. The vast majority are cheaper,” Yang said.

According to Yang, digital textbooks are about 50 to 60 percent cheaper than the cost of a new physical textbook.

The internet provides the means to view your digital textbook from anywhere without having to carry around a 400-page, hardback textbook.

“You can access the textbook from the internet, and you can download it on up to three different devices,” Yang said.

Digital textbooks have even adapted to traditional methods of studying by implementing virtual features to enhance their effectiveness for students.

“You can highlight, take notes, and even share notes with other people,” Yang said.

The increase in digital textbook purchases reflects in the number of students using them in the classroom.

More and more students are bringing their laptops to class with access to the digital version of the textbook rather than traditional, hardcopy textbook, according to Yoshi Fukasawa, chair of economics, finance, and general business.

“I’ve noticed that students are able to access the information on their own and sometimes a student will look up a term that they do not understand from my lecture on the internet to supplement the lecture,” Fukasawa said.