In the good-old days when print was the only option, students had plenty of free or cheap ways to get required textbooks. Borrow one from a friend. Check out a copy from the library. Buy a used copy for a fraction of the price. Or rent a copy through one of several companies providing that service. But the latest textbook enhancements, which require individual access codes to get to bonus materials online, threaten to displace all of those alternatives. Most access codes are good only for a limited time, and once they are activated they can't be used by other students. "This is the next generation of tactics to undermine the used-book market," said Nicole Allen, textbooks-campaign director for the Student Public Interest Research Groups, when asked about Mr. Thomas's situation.
http://chronicle.com/article/What-Is-an-Access-Code-Worth-/134048/
