NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Aug 18, 2005--Students heading back to the University of Utah this year will have an exciting new choice that can significantly reduce the cost of their textbooks. Akademos, Inc., a leading online provider of course materials, has deployed a private label of its popular marketplace, TextbookX.com, for the University of Utah bookstore. Students at the university will now be able to shop online for their required books at https://utah.textbookx.com, and access millions of used textbooks available through the TextbookX.com national database.
''The addition of a leading online marketplace,'' said Brian Jacobs, President and CEO of Akademos, ''means that students at the University of Utah no longer need to look any further than their own bookstore to meet all their textbook needs. An online textbook marketplace will reduce textbook costs for Utah students, and help them earn more money for their books during buyback at semester`s end.''
As a just-released GAO report notes, college textbook prices tripled from 1986 to 2004, significantly outpacing inflation and even tuition increases during the same period. At four-year public universities like Utah, textbooks now constitute 26% of tuition and fees. For students and parents concerned about the high costs of textbooks, this new channel will be a welcome relief, as buyers can save an average of 50% off new book list prices when purchasing through the utah.textbookx.com marketplace.
Shane Girton, Associate Director of the University of Utah Bookstore, noted that, ''The environment for purchasing textbooks has changed considerably over the last few years, with more choices available to students than ever before. Through the partnership with Akademos, Utah students can now enjoy the benefits of a national online marketplace as part of the University`s own bookstore experience. The University Bookstore would like to remain foremost in the minds of students when they make their textbook purchasing decisions. This exciting partnership helps us maintain such a role.''
TextbookX.com is one of the largest independent online sources of new and used college textbooks, and offers students the ability to buy and sell books, video games, and DVDs. The company utilizes sophisticated peer-to-peer marketplace technology and a highly efficient distribution process, based on direct relationships with distributors and publishers, to dramatically lower the cost of textbooks and other materials for college students. Akademos leverages the technologies and robust supply-chain developed for TextbookX.com to provide colleges, universities and other organizations with the most effective and innovative online bookstore solutions available.
Akademos, Inc. was founded in April 1999 by Brian Jacobs, Ph.D., then a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. TextbookX.com successfully launched its online marketplace in 2002, and now provides technology and services for institutions and student-based organizations, as well as selling books, DVDs and video games at discounted prices. Akademos` mission is to use new distribution models and media to democratize and enhance opportunities for students in higher education.
|
