But Ann Marie Wagoner, a 19-year-old University of Alabama freshman who pays $1,200 a year for textbooks, calls the cost of new custom books “ridiculous” and complains that students aren’t told about the royalties. Government Accountability Office criticized several textbook industry practices — including frequent new editions and the “bundling” of books with extras like CDs and workbooks — that discourage the purchase of used books and inflate prices for students. Koch, former president of Old Dominion University and the University of Montana, says that colleges, rather than requiring students to buy custom texts, should post exclusive material free on university Web sites. At the University of Alabama, Carolyn Handa, who until recently directed the school’s writing program, acknowledges that students can save money if they buy used standard editions or sell their books at the end of the term. If a custom text is required, students can try to find it used through local book exchanges or by searching social-networking sites such as Facebook for students who have recently taken the course and may want to sell a copy, Ms. Read More