By Ashlee LeSueur and Hillary Gubler
Students may never be able to dodge text books or the study hours that come with them, but there are ways to avoid the lines and costs at the BYU Bookstore.
Some professors are helping to cut textbook cost by placing their course material on CDs.
“Textbooks are going to be obsolete in a number of years,” said Norman Nemrow, an accounting professor. “Electronic information is cheaper than printed.”
In his Accounting 200 class, Nemrow uses a CD instead of a textbook. Nemrow started using the CD format for his classes during Spring Term.
“I wanted to create a more effective and efficient way to teach the course,” Nemrow said.
He said 75 percent of his Spring/Summer students prefer the way the class is done with the CD, rather than the traditional format.
Stores that sell used books have become another option for students looking to save a buck. Grandpa’s Used Books in Provo specializes in selling used textbooks.
In the past, owners Gary Williams and Richard Hone sold textbooks to wholesalers, which in turn sold the same books to the Bookstore. The owner’s goal at Grandpa’s is to cut out the middle man and save students money.
Grandpa’s Used Books has 200-300 used textbooks and is expanding, Williams said.
As an old-hand at the trade, Williams made a few suggestions to students.
“Students could find a prior edition around town for $5, whereas it would be $70 in the Bookstore,” Williams said.
He advised students to determine the required texts for their classes before school starts so they can have more time to shop around.
Students can also go to the Web sites such as www.Addall.com, which searches 30 other sites, compares costs and points the searching student to the best deal. Amazon.com, bigbooks.com and bigwords.com are other popular sites for textbooks.
A disadvantage to ordering books online is that it can take two to three weeks for shipping.
Another route students take is selling their used books to other students instead of to the BYU Bookstore.
Book buybacks have traditionally been a way for students to get some return on their textbooks.
During the last buyback, the bookstore put $1.6 million back into the hands of the students, said Brent Laker, an assistant director at BYU Bookstore.
The bookstore buys a needed book for 60 percent of the original price, Laker said.
“Of all the books we buy back, we only reach the limit of 45 to 50 percent of them,” Laker said. “When it is a continual book, we generally buy as many as we can.”
Although the bookstore is often put in a bad light by students because it’s the only one on or near campus that sells all required texts, Laker said they do all they can to support student needs.
Texts that don’t make the cut for buybacks may end up at Deseret Industries or other thrift stores.
Professors on campus can also help students reduce textbook costs by putting the text from their courses on reserve in the Harold B. Lee Library.
Students wouldn’t have to buy the required text, but instead could block out time to read the material in the library.
The library carries texts or selected readings on reserve from 300 classes. They are only stocked when the professor brings in his or her personal copy.
Susie Quartey, assistant department chair of Access Services, said the reserve does not buy required texts because it would cut into bookstore profits.
“A definite down side to the reserve option is that the book must be closed when the library is,” said Jamie Phillips, 21, a sophomore from Orem majoring in business.
All online materials can be accessed through the library link on the BYU homepage. Students can get their library pin number from any information desk at the library.
