Like many Harvard instructors, Susan B. Crawford ordered a sourcebook for the class she teaches because she thought it would be cheaper and more convenient than having students buy the books.

Now, after learning her students had been overcharged by $73.74 each, she finds herself among a growing number of students and professors questioning the rising cost of sourcebooks and seeking cheaper alternatives.

Crawford learned of the overcharging when she took the unusual step of contacting Harvard Printing and Publication Services (HPPS) to get a breakdown of the costs involved in producing the reader for her course, Sociology 96, "Community Action Research Project."

She had been surprised by the reader's budget-busting cost, $226.46, especially since she had specifically taken off the syllabus pricey articles from the previous year's reader in order to reduce costs.

So while professors are not generally provided with breakdowns of the costs of the items in their readers, she sought one out.

"It took several months of badgering them all the time to get the breakdown," Crawford says.

The breakdown revealed overcharging pay-dirt: students had been charged for 35 articles which were not in the sourcebook, including a whopping $13.98 per sourcebook for one chapter."

"They charged us for all these expensive articles that I had pulled," Crawford says. "And the articles aren't even in the reader."

HPPS Manager Bob Davis said the overcharging occurred because the HPPS employee responsible for ordering articles did not understand which articles were on reserve in the library and not intended to be included in the sourcebook.

"The person on our end didn't understand the notation," Davis said. "It's a mistake."

But Crawford says she had offered to clarify the notation when she first requested a sourcebook.

"I specifically wrote [the production manager] a separate list of things on reserve," Crawford says. "She said it wasn't necessary."

Students were charged not only for items which were on reserve, but also for numerous items which were included on previous years' syllabi but were not listed anywhere on this year's syllabus.

When she learned of the overcharging, Crawford asked HPPS to refund the money her students were owed. But Crawford says HPPS ignored her requests.

"I left [the production manager] a detailed message, but she wouldn't return my calls," Crawford says. "I didn't pursue it as persistently as I pursued the cost breakdown because I was so frustrated. I don't have time to keep calling them every day and every week."