A national report released by the Government Accountability Office in July concluded that the price of textbooks has risen at twice the rate of inflation in the last two decades, largely due to of the sales tactics of publishers.

Frequent new editions and the grouping of textbooks with supplemental material — a process known as “bundling” — have contributed to the increased cost of textbooks, according to the report.

The report stated that rising costs associated with product design, including CD-ROMs and other supplements, is the most significant factor in textbook pricing. It revealed that textbook prices have increased an average of 6 percent a year, nearly tripling since December 1986. In addition, the report found that textbooks sold overseas were less expensive when compared to textbooks sold domestically.

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), a member of the House education committee, requested a GAO investigation after he received complaints from constituents about high textbook prices, according to spokeswoman Gillian Schoene.

“As a result of the report, we have some hard data that supports that bundling has led to the increased cost of textbooks,” Schoene said. “Students are sometimes having to spend [up] to $900 and it is hurting their ability to take certain classes. Students are trying to get around buying textbooks by buying some, but not others. [This campaign] falls within [Wu’s] greater efforts to make higher education accessible.”

Although the report concluded that publishers are partly responsible for the rising cost of textbooks, it also lists several other reasons for the price increases, including a parallel rise in college tuition.

However, publishers say they are selling new materials to accompany textbooks in order to meet the demands of professors, according to Association of American Publishers Executive Director Bruce Hildebrand.

Hildebrand also said that all the supplemental materials created by publishers are designed to enhance the educational experience.

“The tests you take online, the overhead sheets the professor uses, all of those materials — God didn’t make them, publishers did,” Hildebrand said. “All of those materials are produced by publishers in order to facilitate the needs of higher education.”

But California Public Interest Research Group, which has been fighting against the rise of textbook prices, said that the report supports its campaign.

“A CALPIRG survey found that half of all textbooks now come ‘bundled,’ or shrink-wrapped with additional instructional materials, such as CD-ROMs and workbooks,” CALPIRG Program Director Dave Rosenfeld stated in an e-mail. “Some publishers tell professors the CD-ROMs and workbooks are free. The reality is the bundled items can dramatically increase the cost of a textbook.”

Merriah Fairchild, a higher education advocate for CALPIRG, said the report revealed that publishers use bundling to artificially inflate the price of textbooks.

However, Hildebrand said that bundling is a result of technological advances in the teaching methods of higher education.

“[Bundling] is due to the evolution of the Internet and the student,” Hildebrand said. “Students aren’t willing to give up their computers. Times have changed, so publishers are leading the way.”

Nonetheless, publishers, politicians and CALPIRG all said they are trying to find solutions to the rising cost of textbooks.

“Students in the short term can do something to try to lower the costs of textbooks by buying [books] on international Web sites,” Fairchild said. “The only drawback is you have to wait for the shipping.”

In addition, Hildebrand said publishers are creating new alternatives to conventional textbooks, including the development of online books, custom textbooks and abbreviated editions.

Schoene said that as a result of the report, Wu is trying to create legislation that will enable students to buy more affordable textbooks.

Wu also added an amendment to the College Acccess and Opportunity Act to stem rising textbok costs, Schoene said.

The amendment lists specific recommendations to textbook publishers, faculty and bookstores to help make textbooks more affordable, including selling texts “a la carte,” or without supplemental materials.