The first week of school has come and gone and many students found themselves shelling out big bucks for textbooks. The price, quantity and availability of textbooks have been a major concern for students, faculty and staff alike at The University ofMemphis.
The cost of textbooks seems to be keeping up with the cost of higher education.
Freshmen Maria Threlkeld, Katie Webb and Stephanie Sparks said they were shocked at the amount they spent on books.
"We expected to spend a couple hundred dollars each for our books," both Threlkeld and Webb said. Threlkeld, who is undecided but leaning toward elementary education, actually spent closer to $400. Webb, an interior design major, spent a little less. Sparks, a nursing major, was close in her estimation of book prices. She managed that feat by shopping early for her books and purchasing used books.
Another freshman, Brent Babb, is majoring in mechanical engineering. He has yet to buy his books.
"These prices are ridiculous!" he said. "I plan to get my books from someplace like Amazon.com or eBay."
Junior elementary education major Millicent Morgan got lucky in here textbook purchasing.
"I only needed a couple of books and I was able to get one of them her on campus and the other I got online from half.com at eBay," she said.
Morgan said her shopping experience at the campus bookstore was good.
"They were fast and very organized. As far as prices go, they were OK in comparison to other college book stores."
"Textbook prices originate from the publisher," said Beth Cain, University of Memphis campus bookstore manager. She explained that bookstores know textbook prices are high and that is one of the reasons bookstores have used textbooks available for purchase.
"We try to buy back as many used books as possible in an effort to save students money," she said. "This past spring 'buyback' has allowed me to give $300,000 back to our students. That's double from the previous year.
But not everyone has had a good experience buying textbooks.
Senior political science major Shirlene Wilson had to wait for a book for one of her classes.
"The instructor turned in the booklist on time but the book is still not here. That seems to be a recurring problem," Wilson said.
According to both Cain and Marvell Bond, textbook manager at the Tiger Bookstore, placing textbook orders early in the semester gives the bookstores time to get the textbooks ordered. It also gives publishers time to determine if the book is available.
Kenneth Guerin, McGraw Hill\'d5s senior account manager for Tennessee and Kentucky agreed.
"Getting book orders in to the publishers early prevents lost time and revenue for colleges and universities. Things happen and if book orders are sent in at the last minute, it is harder for us to correct the problem in a timely manner," he said.
