As college costs have climbed, textbooks have also become more expensive.

With student loan debt and tuition fees spiraling out of control in this country, many people would appreciate small improvements, such as cheaper textbooks, to help keep costs down. Free textbooks would make a difference for some students as well, and this recently posted Imgur photo sends powerful message about why we ought to make this a reality.

In the spring, ATTN: released a video examining the high costs of college textbooks:

As ATTN: reported a few months ago, the average student will spend more than $1,000 on textbooks this year alone, an increase of 812 percent compared to the previous generation. Textbook costs compound the current student debt crisis, and according to a 2014 study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 65 percent of students reported that they chose not to purchase a textbook because of its price. Nearly all of the students who decided not to buy a textbook based on the price tag expressed concern over what that would mean for their grade. Almost half of students said textbook costs dictated how many and which classes they decided to take.

More than 80 percent of students said they felt they would do much better in a class if the textbook material was available for free online and buying a hard copy was not required.

In January, USPIRG higher education advocate Ethan Senack spoke to ATTN: about the textbook crisis, saying books have become so pricey "because professors assign specific editions and just five publishers have a lock on the market. That means they're able to drive up prices without fear of market competitors. The content of some courses changes, but not nearly enough to justify brand new print editions—sometimes every two years—that carry such high prices."

According to the National Association of College Stores, Senack said, more than 77 cents of each dollar spent on textbooks goes directly to publishers.

"Of those 77 cents, the publishing company makes about 18 cents in pure profit, while spending 15 cents on marketing, and roughly 32 percent to cover costs (paper, printing, employee salaries, etc)," he said. "At the same time, the author - the person who dedicated hundreds of hours of research to write the book – only gets about 12 cents on the dollar on average."

Senack recommends current students explore the Open Textbook Library and catalog while they wait on lawmakers to improve textbook affordability. Of course, that means the issue deserves more attention and solutions.

"There are hundreds of open textbooks available right now, but we need to spread the word," he said. "Students should talk to their professors about adopting an open textbook in their class ... In the meantime, students need to be smart consumers."