Amazon has ironed out an agreement with the University of Massachusetts to take over the schools textbook business from Follett. Starting this fall students will be able to order print books and have them delivered for free to their homes or an Amazon-staffed storefront in the campus center that’s set to open in June.
Each student will be available to save $380 each semester by ordering their print or digital textbooks from Amazon. “We really recognize that textbooks and course materials are a major expense for students, and those have continued to go up over time,” said Ed Blaguszewski, UMass spokesman. “This is about convenience and saving money for students.
Amazon is hoping to compete in the lucrative college bookstore business that is dominated by Barnes and Noble. The contract with the University of Massachusetts is the 3rd one that has been established. In 2013, the company launched its first textbook partnership with the University of California Davis, followed by Purdue University in 2014.
via Boston Globe
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
