It’s a bind many financial aid
students increasingly find themselves
in – how do you buy evermore
expensive textbooks when
the aid money hasn’t arrived yet?
With financial aid awards typically
not arriving until four weeks
into the semester, such students
receive a textbook voucher at the
start of each semester from the
Financial Aid office. But the
vouchers can only be used at the
bookstore, for new, full-price textbooks.
Students who do n’t receive
financial aid, meanwhile, can buy
used books online for far less.
And when professors demand
that students have required textbooks
in the first week of the
semester, that leaves financial aid
students with few choices, most of
them bad. They can either fork over
top dollar for new texts at the bookstore,
or they can wait for their aid
and risk falling behind in class.
Janine Logue, 26, from Bensalem,
is a financial aid student
overwhelmed by the cost of textbooks.
“This semester, only taking
three classes, I spent $300 on textbooks
alone. If the library offered
other options for me it would alleviate
a lot of financial stress. One of
my most expensive textbooks I
barely had to use. If the library had
it, I could have paid my cell phone
bill on time.”
So what can be done?
Willie Coleman, Bucks’ bookstore
director, said the bookstore
carries all required texts for each
semester’s classes and the price of
those books is set by the publisher.
When asked why the bookstore
doesn’t accept certain textbooks
during the tri-annual textbook
buyback, Coleman said the publisher
is the one really accepting the
books and it’s up to them whether
or not to take the book back.
Why doesn’t Bucks purchase
these rejected books if they are
going to be used next semester, and
put them on the library shelves?
If the bookstore bought otherwise
unacceptable textbooks for a
reduced cost or accepted donated
books and added them to the library
shelves for student reference, students
who could not afford textbooks
until receiving their aid
could access required reading
rather than going without.
Coleman responded that those
options have never been explored
before, but it would have to be
agreed upon by the library, which
would shelve the books.
But officials at Bucks’ library
say that would go against their policy.
“Our policy is absolutely no
textbooks in the library,” said
Marzenna Ostrowski, Bucks’ collection
development librarian,
who is responsible for what books
go on the shelves.Linda McCann, director of
library services, said, “We develop
a collection to support the curriculum.”
Shelving space and budget limitations
were the main reasons the
library said they won’t carry textbooks.
However, any patron of the
library has seen plenty of unused
shelves throughout the library.
“I am not totally opposed to talking
to the bookstore about options
[for shelving textbooks] but the
current policy says no textbooks,”
McCann said.
Although most college libraries
don’t carry textbooks, it is not
unheard of. Some colleges are
offering innovative pilot programs
and other solutions to ease the
financial burden of textbooks for
students.
For example, Madison University
in Gulfport, Ms, developed a
“Free Textbook Program.” This
program supplies all required textbooks
and course materials free of
charge for students.
On its website, MU writes:
“Many of our students have
expressed concerns regarding the
increasing cost of textbooks and
materials. In fact, some students
were forced to place their enrollment
on hold in order to save
money to pay for textbooks.”
Hofstra University on Long
Island shelves textbooks that cost
more than $100 in its library.
Closer to home, Delaware
County Community College said,
“Textbooks are available for
approximately 90 percent of the
core required courses offered on
main campus.”
If Bucks isn’t interested in looking
into such textbook programs,
there are a few other solutions.
During textbook buyback, highlighted
or minimally damaged
books, which are rejected by the
publisher, could be purchased for
an even more discounted price to
be stocked in the library. Or, they
could accept donated textbooks.
But Ostrowski responded, “I
don’t see the purpose. Why would
we pay money for sad books?”
McCann noted that “Some professors
reserve books for their students.”
And it’s true: there is one
cart behind the library desk that
holds about 30 textbooks or other
course-required reading on
reserve.
How many titles are carried by
the bookstore? “We are looking at
roughly 800 titles,” said Coleman.
Some other college libraries are
building their book reserve, rather
than only accepting books
reserved by professors, which is
the process Bucks uses.
Miami University undertook
such a project. Its website says the
following: “Our aim is to assist students
who may not be able to afford
the textbooks or who may be
delayed in purchasing them, and
to give all students in the courses an
opportunity to make use of their
required texts while on campus.
Given the rising costs of textbooks,
this pilot project is aimed at
making these materials for learning
as widely available as possible,
which is certainly a part of the
Library’s mission.”
Ohio State University developed
a similar program. They put a
select number of textbooks for 17
types of courses on open reserve.
The University of Illinois is “in
the second phase of an innovative
pilot project that gives students
access to required textbooks for
core courses. The Textbook
Reserve Project places a broad
selection of books on reserve in the
Undergraduate Library, allowing
students to share resources and
reduce expenses,” according to
their website.
There are certain limitations to
these programs. In order to accommodate
students, reserved books
are lent on a short-term basis, from
a few hours to a day. Also, some
lending programs charge students
for damages incurred to borrowed
books.
The Bucks library does not
accept donated textbooks from students
just looking to get rid of them.
“My textbook wasn’t accepted [by
the bookstore during buyback] and
I thought about donating it to the
library and they turned me down,”
said Mark Bennett, 20, journalism
major from Levittown.
Library officials said budgetary
considerations are the main obstacle
to implementing such programs.
“We don’t have the money. We
have limited budgeting
resources,” said Ostrowski. “We
have to electronically catalog the
books and have library faculty
shelve the books. That costs
money.”
For now, financial aid students at
Bucks have few options when it
comes to buying textbooks.