December 7, 2015 - 16:47
Project by: Madison Cassidy
Interview with Director of the Bookstore:
Buying at the bookstore is not always about the money price- consider the ecological costs of packaging for shipping
Think about the equity of buying online versus the bookstore- people on Amazon pay a variety of prices, while everyone pays the same price at the bookstore- when the BMC bookstore was run by Follett and some people (in the past) received financial aid directly for books, they would not receive aid in time to buy books at the lowest prices, they would be forced to buy more expensive books, negating the financial help that they received from the college
Book editions- it was disruptive in the classroom if some students had the correct edition or newest one while others bought older version or different editions because they were cheaper- editions change, so some students received different info/formatting
with Follett, the school was required to buy new books each year, independent of whether professors felt new editions were needed or not
guaranteed buyback- why is this a good idea?
books are reused, so the reused price is in the range of 20-40% off the amount for retail, compared with unused books sold again so the reused price is in the range of 5-20% off retail (Read: cheaper to have bought a book a few times over)
there is less risk for the bookstore and less stress for the students compared to a rental system
BEST part of buyback (in the director’s mind): you don’t have to return knowledge if you want to keep it, YOU decide whether you want to return books, not forced to return them- the return on investment of books bought for a Bryn Mawr education will most likely be high!
He wants your feedback- since the bookstore is independent, it is now all about the students’ needs and wants
the more you buy at the bookstore, the lower the prices will become (higher demand = large shipment = lower prices for the individual student)
Interview with a Professor of Art History who served on Board to change BMC Bookstore to be independent:
the previous president of the college chose Follett because it was cheaper overall for BMC but that choice limited the identity of BMC represented in the bookstore (the clothing wasn’t varied, not enough styles and sizes, little selection of books for pleasure reading)
In Fall 2014, the associate provost wanted to evaluate the contract with Follett, faculty and students want to discuss it
the Board consulted with directors of the bookstores at Swarthmore and UPenn, which are independent
McBride Students were involved and sent out a poll/survey to the student community, the undergrad president of SGA was the liaison between the board and the students, BMC students voted overall “yes” for having an independent bookstore
Survey Results:
I gathered data from a survey I sent to seniors who are Chem/Biochem, Sociology, or English majors. I received 30 responses, all anonymous.
Question #1: Where do you buy the majority your textbooks and other books for classes?
77% of survyed students buy their textbooks online, 20% from BMC bookstore, 3% from other Bryn Mawr students
Question #2: How often do you annotate or take notes in your textbooks? Is it done with pencil or pen?
The majority of students who DO annotate in texts use a pencil, while a few use a pen
Most English majors buy used books- they are cheaper, the annotations are useful/funny
Question #3: For English and Sociology majors: do you buy used books (especially ones that are soft cover and a standard paperback size) for your classes or brand-new ones to annotate yourself?
Question #4: For Chemistry/Biochem majors: do you tend to buy the paper version (either hardcover or paperback) of your textbooks? Or do you use downloaded version from online?
A few students for Chemistry/Biochem responded and said they either downloaded the textbook and printed it or bought a paper version. One person only uses the books in Collier.
Question #5: This year, the BMC bookstore became independent and now offers some lower prices, buyback, and all the correct editions for classes here. If you didn’t buy from the bookstore in past years, did you buy books from it this semester (Fall 2015)? If you did buy them from the bookstore this year or did not, please briefly state why.
BMC’s new and improved independent bookstore did NOT change most seniors’ book-buying habits. Most were not aware of buy back and several did price comparisons and still bought books online.
Below are some examples of responses:
“I did buy books from the bookstore this semester even though I never had before. The books here were cheaper or the same price as they were on Amazon, and were immediately available and had guaranteed buyback.”
“I have bought my books at the bookstore ever since my sophomore year (too many mixups with online orders), but now I am especially adamant about supporting our campus bookstore”
“I am generally distrustful of bookstore prices, so rarely go there unless it can't be avoided--nevertheless, my only classes with textbooks this year were both at haverford, so I wouldn't have gone to bmcs bookstore anyway”
“No I did not. The prices of used books on Amazon were still cheaper than the bookstore. It was also more convenient to buy online than standing in line for ~30 min during the first few weeks of class at the bookstore”
“I did use the bookstore this past semester. It is much easier to buy the books on campus then it is to hunt them down online. Especially as an English Major since the copies of the books I'm asked to get are usually very specific editions.”