After a sale of course literature of almost 500 million kronor per year until the pandemic, it dropped to almost 300 million kronor last year, according to a report from Läromedelsförfattarna.
One reason is that the second-hand market has grown significantly. Läromedelsförfattarna also point out that unauthorized copying and distribution have become more common – students can to a higher degree find course literature for free on the internet.
Other contributing reasons are that course literature in English has become more common. It also occurs that students rely entirely on support materials, such as PowerPoint presentations and recorded lectures. Representatives from educational institutions state that support materials are provided to an increasing extent since students in at least some education programs seem to lack the energy to get through all course literature.
Läromedelsförfattarna warn that the publication of Swedish course literature in narrower, niche subject areas may be jeopardized in the long run. A couple of ways to secure publication could be to introduce an earmarked study grant for the purchase of course literature and to require Swedish-language course literature in basic courses, writes Läromedelsförfattarna.
