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Remember, that $180 is for a single term. It’s another $180 for next term’s pretend textbook

September 18th, 2012

Notice:
The town hall meeting hosted by the Dean to discuss this issue will be on Thursday Sept 20, 2012 from 12:30 to 1:30 in room 284 at OCAD.

I seem to have shined (shone?) a light on a newsworthy issue in my last couple of blog posts about OCAD’s pictureless Art History Text, and how it is itself almost a self referential topical meta objet d’art.

I’m surprised at the varied articles written on the subject, and the often insightful discussions that have ensued.

A couple of notes and observations:

  1. I am working about 40 km away on Thursday so I won’t be able to attend the town hall meeting and my daughter has classes throughout the day. Would be nice if someone could log the proceedings for me.
  2. It’s been speculated that Pearson Education who publishes the book may be under the same ownership umbrella as the publishers of the original books. This could imply that contention about rights transfer may be overstated. Could someone pose that question at the meeting?
  3. I think it’s important to underline the fact that this book
    covers ONE SEMESTER, and that a SECOND edition is slated for the next one-semester course FOR ANOTHER $180.
    What the fuck? Can I even say fuck here? Is this mic on? Sibilance!!
  4. I’m told the book comes with a code or login of some sort to allow restricted access to the online material. When does that expire?

I’ve had it said to me that since the book/website provides access to all the material, what do I want out of all this?

What I want is value. With this plan, one gets a book that is useless on its own and restricted access to a website presumably for a limited time – certainly only three months of use and direct relevance. I’ll pay $30 for that if I have to and it will last about as long as the Doppio Espresso I get at the Starbucks at Chapters/Indigo when I go to buy the $50 nicely bound remaindered art book that will festoon my coffee table. See, I said “festoon” again. That word’s chance to shine has been long overdue.

Alternatively, I will be content with one or more hard-backed books, professionally bound, with illustrations consisting of full color plates. After my daughter has used them for school I can read them and learn from them when and wherever I like without electricity or network connection, lend them, use them to stop my table from wobbling, press flowers in them, and assign them to my descendants. Possibly 100 years or more of use and continued relevance. I’ll pay the going rate for such treasures, seems as though it would add to about $200 from what I hear.

2 comments to “Remember, that $180 is for a single term. It’s another $180 for next term’s pretend textbook”

  1. Thank you.

         by Festoon September 19th, 2012 at 12:23 am

  2. It’s the least I could do since you showed me how to properly deploy tinsel back in December 1986.

         by brent September 20th, 2012 at 8:37 pm