Faculty encouraged to help lower book costs

By Brad Fischer

Published April 20, 2007

With the University Bookstore's Textbook Buyback period beginning April 30, most students are looking to get the most bang for their buck. As it turns out, the store's management wants to help.

The bookstore started a campaign, called Choose Used, to get students to buy used books from the store. When a student purchases a new $100 book, $75 goes to the publisher, $15 covers expenses and $10 goes back to MU through the Division of Student Affairs.

But with used books, the university no longer has to pay the publisher. When a student purchases a used book for $75, $50 goes back to the seller, $10 covers expenses and $15 goes back to MU.

The Division of Student Affairs has numerous departments under its control, including Campus Dining Services; Recreation Services and Facilities; Residential Life; and Student Life.

Student and Auxiliary spokeswoman Michelle Froese said the bookstore is more convenient for students to work with.

She said if students drop a class, they could return their books during the drop period for a full refund but online vendors have no such policy.

University Bookstore Assistant Director Katie Lockwood said the staff meets with the academic departments to discuss how to reduce textbook costs.

"Working with departments is not something new," Lockwood said. "We have always done this, but we are using different tactics to reach them this year."

She said the staff has spent more time informing faculty how the books they select and the date they turn in their requests affects the prices for students.

Lockwood said the store rewarded faculty members who turned in their book orders by the due date by entering them into a drawing for a University Bookstore gift card. Bookstore management has also worked with faculty to discourage "bundling" books to make course materials more affordable. Bundling refers to multiple textbooks that must be bought together.

The deadline for book requests was on April 13.

Lockwood said the store received the same number of on-time orders this semester as in past years. She said the staff has had delays because some information had to be transferred on to the new student registration system, myZou.

The prices for used books and the amount of books the University Bookstore will buy back is determined by the cost of the new book. Used books cost 25 percent of the new books prices. Books that will be reused at MU the following semester are bought back by the store for 50 percent of the price of the new book.

If the book is not going to be used again the next semester at MU, then a wholesale book distributor, MBS Textbook Exchange, could buy the book but for less than 50 percent of the new price.

Lockwood said three common reasons why books are not bought back by the bookstore are that the faculty member did not turn in the book order for the next semester, requests for a new edition of the book and the inclusion of the book in a bundle.

Although the University Bookstore will buy back books year-round, Lockwood said the best time for students to sell their books back to the bookstore is at the end of the semester. At this time, the bookstore has received orders for the next semester and offers 50 percent of the new price if MU plans to reuse the books.

The Missouri Students Association, along with the MU Faculty Council and the University Bookstore management, is looking into instituting a rental system on textbooks.

Froese said it would be difficult for every textbook to be available on a rental basis. Each book would be available for a set rental price. She said the rental system would only be feasible in a large enrollment class in which the faculty would commit to using the same book for three years.

"So far, we have about six interested classes," Froese said. "We plan to run a pilot program over the next semester or two."

Graduate Professional Council member Yve Solbrekken said she is drafting a resolution on a textbook rental system. The resolution will be voted on at GPC's meeting on May 1. If GPC makes a decision at the meeting, then it will go to MSA for approval.