Abstract
It is a guilty secret that many college professors sell the complimentary desk copies that they receive from textbook publishers for cash. This article attempts to shed light on the undercover practice by looking at the resale of complimentary textbooks by faculty from four perspectives. Part One provides an overview of the college textbook industry, the business reasons that motivate publishers to provide complimentary desk copies to faculty, and the economic consequences of the entry of the textbooks into the used book market. Part Two examines the legal characteristics of complimentary desk copies in terms of their ownership and any contractual duties that may arise from their receipt. Part Three looks at legislative efforts to curb the practice, and Part Four reviews university policies addressing the issue. In Part Five, the ethical implications of faculty selling desk copies are examined, with a special focus on this practice in a business school. The Conclusion considers the future of the sale of complimentary copies in light of the move to e-books and other initiatives by authors and textbook publishers to circumvent the practice.
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Notes
Interestingly, the authors’ university prohibits solicitors and tradespersons from entering the grounds for the purpose of transacting business with members of the university community with an express exception for, among others, booksellers approved by the Provost and University Police who possess the appropriate ID card.
One of the authors is a Purist who will not sell textbooks under any circumstances, but readily gives them to students or donates them to third world libraries. Her rationale is different from those offered by Ennis and based on a conditional gift theory.
The other author is a Pragmatist. If he asks for the desk copy, he keeps it. If it arrives unsolicited and he does not want to use it as a reference, it is fair game for the next book buyer to come along.
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Davis, L.M., Usry, M. Faculty Selling Desk Copies—The Textbook Industry, the Law and the Ethics. J Acad Ethics 9, 19–31 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-011-9128-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-011-9128-1