College textbook prices soar, hurting students burdened by tuition, debt

By Richard Read. It's textbook season again, the time of year students such as Stephanie Tierrablanca dread. Deep in the stacks of the Portland State University Bookstore, Tierrablanca, a senior from California, searches the web on her smart phone an environmental-studies book stocked by the shop. If an online competitor lists a lower price, the store will match the amount and deduct 10 percent. More...