On the first day of classes each semester, students want to know why
we don't put copies of the textbooks on reserve in the library. That way,
students can save money by simply copying sections of the book at a copy
machine. (The response has something to do with how we reimburse authors
and pay publishing costs, copywrite laws, and the short shelf life of
textbooks in the library.)
This year, a related text issue appeared. Why doesn't everyone
purchase their textbooks over the web, again saving money? I don't have a
ready response to this one. But somehow, supporting amazon.com or
varsitybooks.com instead of our college bookstore seems related to the
debate over allowing Borders or Walmart into town (which threatens the
smaller locally-owned businesses). I don't want to see the college
bookstores driven out of business. I like to browze among the texts and see
what my colleagues are using in their courses. I even send my students into
the bookstore (pad of paper in hand) to examine recent texts for references
that will get them launched on their term papers. Is this all to become a
part of the past, or can our campus stores survive a loss of 30 to 60
percent of their business?
I guess I am suggesting that when we and our students shop only by
price, there are other costs that we will eventually pay as a result of our
collective efforts. The commons dilemma and social traps come to mind here.)
Dave Campbell
Humboldt State Univ.
