2008 Woodie Awards
Shortage on Textbooks Leave Students Sore
Jessica Havery
Issue date: 9/23/04 Section: News
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University Bookstore's initial book return deadline, Sept. 13, has passed and some students are still waiting for their books to arrive.
The extended wait has frustrated students and disrupted its share of classes, however general bookstore manager Richard Ammerman said there are numerous reasons as to why these much-needed textbooks have not arrived.
Ammerman said that, "at the beginning of the semester, the text department was missing approximately 5 percent of textbook orders." The textbook order forms were made available to faculty and staff of each [academic] department in plenty of time to receive a prompt response from each professor; however, there are factors that can delay that process.
When an academic department experiences an unexpected retirement, they are forced to hire new staff members at the last minute. As soon as the new professor of a course is chosen, the book order can be processed; however, by that time, a late order can often mean a late arrival, Ammerman said.
"The text department is basically at the mercy of publishing companies who have many other clients, and may not have the title that a professor has requested," Ammerman said. When a publishing company does not have a title, or the title has been put on hold, students find themselves scrounging for course materials.
In the event that a delay, or shortage on titles, does occur, the textbook staff has options in place to assist customers with their orders, Ammerman said. Special order forms are used to process the immediate need of a textbook.
Assuming that the publisher has stock in that specific title, the average response
time includes a seven to 10 day processing window, he said.
"I haven't had problems with a shortage on required books, but the bookstore ordered the new edition of a book when my professor asked for the older edition," junior English major, Chad Clark, said.
"The mix-up has caused problems in
class when students are working out of different versions, and it cost $60 more than the requested version," Clark said.
The extended wait has frustrated students and disrupted its share of classes, however general bookstore manager Richard Ammerman said there are numerous reasons as to why these much-needed textbooks have not arrived.
Ammerman said that, "at the beginning of the semester, the text department was missing approximately 5 percent of textbook orders." The textbook order forms were made available to faculty and staff of each [academic] department in plenty of time to receive a prompt response from each professor; however, there are factors that can delay that process.
When an academic department experiences an unexpected retirement, they are forced to hire new staff members at the last minute. As soon as the new professor of a course is chosen, the book order can be processed; however, by that time, a late order can often mean a late arrival, Ammerman said.
"The text department is basically at the mercy of publishing companies who have many other clients, and may not have the title that a professor has requested," Ammerman said. When a publishing company does not have a title, or the title has been put on hold, students find themselves scrounging for course materials.
In the event that a delay, or shortage on titles, does occur, the textbook staff has options in place to assist customers with their orders, Ammerman said. Special order forms are used to process the immediate need of a textbook.
Assuming that the publisher has stock in that specific title, the average response
time includes a seven to 10 day processing window, he said.
"I haven't had problems with a shortage on required books, but the bookstore ordered the new edition of a book when my professor asked for the older edition," junior English major, Chad Clark, said.
"The mix-up has caused problems in
class when students are working out of different versions, and it cost $60 more than the requested version," Clark said.