There is a series of classes secretly offered at UCLA. Many of
you have probably taken one or all of the series already ““
it’s called “Alternatives to Textbook Purchase,”
and you take it simultaneously with your other classes. I passed
the first class of the series last quarter.
My initiation, which I found was similar to other
students’ experiences with whom I talked to, went something
like this: One of the books required for a class was not in the
bookstore first week. The bookstore assured our instructor it would
have the book in four to six weeks, which was fine since it was
assigned reading for the second half of the quarter. Those more
seasoned veterans of “Alternatives to Textbook
Purchase” went ahead and ordered the book online.
When the four to six weeks had passed, and it was time to read
the book, I went to the textbook store. Though the professor had
ordered enough books for each student in the class, and even though
quite a few students had bought them from third-party online
vendors, the bookstore sold out before some unwitting students
could realize the problem. Neither the professor nor the students
received an explanation for the shortage from the bookstore.
So I began the process of looking for alternatives ““
Textbooks Plus, Borders, Amazon.com. To my dismay, the book was
hard to get ““ requiring four to six weeks in all instances
““ and so, along with a few others in the class, I was forced
to photocopy a fellow classmate’s book.
We ended up paying nearly as much as we would have spent on the
published version. In stubborn anger, I spent a couple hours
binding the pages into my own book so as to keep it and get my
money’s worth.
This quarter, another of my books hasn’t come in yet, but
I’m a quick study. I didn’t bother to even get the
tentative approximation as to when it would arrive, as I usually
get from the bookstore. Instead, I’m ordering it online.
Many of my professors have complained off-handedly in class
about the textbook store and the many instances of difficulty
they’ve had dealing with it in their teaching career.
Some opt to provide the books through other sources, such as
Westwood merchants. One recently opted to have two representatives
from the publishing company come to the class for the first two
days to sell the reader in person.
I’ve heard many reasons why books sell out before all the
students get a chance to buy them. The most common reason is that
the textbook store would lose too much profit if it bought a new
book for every student, and other issues include waitlisted
students and students that later drop the class.
Since textbooks can usually be purchased outside of Ackerman,
often for less, our textbook store becomes useful for its
convenience. But if the textbook store has become a running joke
among students and professors, that suggests a serious problem.
In terms of profit and business, I realize that buying a book
for each student in each class would only result in certain loss,
as not all students will opt to purchase their books from
UCLA’s textbook store. However, the process of offering the
textbooks could be tweaked to make allowances for situations such
as that of my class last quarter.
Although, as mentioned under its policies listed online, no
inventory system is perfect, the system could be modified to work
more efficiently or to make concessions for special circumstances
such as hard-to-find books.
Perhaps the textbook store can alert students to the fact that a
book might be difficult to purchase anywhere else, especially when
it does not have them in stock the first week. A simple red dot on
the identification cards under the books in the textbook store
would be sufficient.
It would also be extremely helpful if the textbook store
differentiated online between books it has already received that
are in stock and ones that have yet to come. Similarly, it should
somehow notify students if a certain book has yet to arrive.
This could be resolved by placing a sign next to or above the
book’s identifying note card; it’s a simple solution
that would inform students rather than leave them guessing whether
the book is sold out or has not arrived yet. Furthermore, it would
alleviate the extra pressure put on otherwise busy employees when
they are asked about stocking questions over which they have no
control.
Also, in terms of used textbooks, the store could offer more
incentives for people to sell back their books before leaving for
break, such as drawings for UCLA store discounts or a free lunch.
With a better grasp of how many used textbooks it will receive, the
textbook store’s stocking options could become more
flexible.
Dealing with textbook problems causes wasted time in classes and
unhappy customers. In turn, those customers look for other textbook
alternatives and give the competition more credibility. My
instinctual business sense says that’s not good for Ackerman
Union’s textbook store.
Before I end this, however, I have a confession to make. I once
saw a book I had to have stacked for another class at the UCLA
textbook store, and without thought to the consequences or the way
the textbook store functions, I bought it (in my defense, it was a
new, not used, easy-to-find book).
Now that I am more aware, I have done my part as a student by
starting a booklist and attempting to hold off on buying books
until I’m actually enrolled in the class. Since I’ve
done my part, I’d like the textbook store to do its part. I
attempted to contact someone Thursday and Friday to find out if the
store feels it is carrying its weight, but I was not able to reach
anyone.
As for my strangely bound book, it’s going under my
romanticized stories about the college experience.
Share your now-horrible, later-hilarious experiences with
Hashem at nhashem@media.ucla.edu.