2008 Woodie Awards
Letters
Book exchange a savvy option
Cordelia Sykes
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Opinion
One idea that I think could help some students with book costs, as well as help get unwanted textbooks off of students' hands, is to somehow hold a textbook exchange.
Each student would bring textbooks they do not especially need or want anymore to a designated area. To make the process easier, there would maybe need to be a form available to each student, indicating the title of the book they're offering, what course it was used for and whether or not it will be needed again the following semester.
Now, I'm not sure if books would be displayed together according to the previous owner or according to identical copies and/or the course it was used for. Regardless, the books would be displayed on a table or shelf and made available to any student needing books for the upcoming semester.
The books would be available on a first-come, first-served basis. And there is no guarantee that the books desired will be available. The directors of the exchange would also need to stay as current as possible as to what books and editions are required for upcoming courses.
If any books were left unclaimed, either the previous owners will have to reclaim them or they will have to be donated to some other program or disposed of.
Like the textbook rental idea mentioned in "Textbook rental programs: Should PSU sign up?', the idea of the textbook exchange is not entirely flawless, but hopefully, it can help some students save money on textbooks and/or help relieve them of unneeded books that would otherwise go to waste.
It would also help students who have damaged books to recoup some of their losses (I know from experience that sometimes "life" happens to books; pages get spilled on, covers get bent, etc.) or avoid "late fees" on rental texts.
Each student would bring textbooks they do not especially need or want anymore to a designated area. To make the process easier, there would maybe need to be a form available to each student, indicating the title of the book they're offering, what course it was used for and whether or not it will be needed again the following semester.
Now, I'm not sure if books would be displayed together according to the previous owner or according to identical copies and/or the course it was used for. Regardless, the books would be displayed on a table or shelf and made available to any student needing books for the upcoming semester.
The books would be available on a first-come, first-served basis. And there is no guarantee that the books desired will be available. The directors of the exchange would also need to stay as current as possible as to what books and editions are required for upcoming courses.
If any books were left unclaimed, either the previous owners will have to reclaim them or they will have to be donated to some other program or disposed of.
Like the textbook rental idea mentioned in "Textbook rental programs: Should PSU sign up?', the idea of the textbook exchange is not entirely flawless, but hopefully, it can help some students save money on textbooks and/or help relieve them of unneeded books that would otherwise go to waste.
It would also help students who have damaged books to recoup some of their losses (I know from experience that sometimes "life" happens to books; pages get spilled on, covers get bent, etc.) or avoid "late fees" on rental texts.
Be the first to comment on this story