BOOKSTORE
THE BOOK ON BUYING
TEXTBOOKS BY MANUELLA LIBARDI
Publishers have formats for all budgets, study styles
T
he first week of the semester will be filled with excitement, but that also comes with the madness of fighting against a sea of people to try to get textbooks that sometimes can cost a fortune. But it doesn’t have to be quite so hectic.
“I always check the Rate My Professor website at the beginning of the semester to see what other people have said. They usually say if the professor uses the required books or not.” Some students, however, still choose to purchase their textbooks from the University Bookstore. “I don’t have an Amazon account,” said advertising junior Sergio Reyes. “I don’t like to put my personal information out there. Call me paranoid, but I just don’t trust Technology and the expanding “ With all the options typing my credit card number on marketplace of the Internet are available like rental, the Internet.” proving to be solutions and the digital, used and new The bookstore has made preferred alternatives for many alternative options available for textbooks for our UH UH students who don’t want to students like Reyes who still prefer spend hundreds of dollars every students, we are confident to do things the old-school way. It semester. our customers will offers textbooks in many different “I only buy my stuff online,” pick the best option for forms that have proved successsaid psychology senior Bree Mortheir study habits and ful in the past few years, said Felix ris. “I always get my books from budgets.” Robinson, manager of the UH Chegg and Amazon.” Bookstore. The number of students turn“With all the options available like rental, digital, ing away from campus bookstores to purchase used and new textbooks for our UH students, we are required materials online is growing at incredible confident our customers will pick the best option rates, according to the National Survey of Student for their study habits and budgets,” Robinson said. Engagement. Textbook Brokers is another on-campus option The same study also shows that one in three stufor those looking to purchase books in person. dents chooses not to buy some books at all. “Before I switched to the Internet, I used to get “I don’t buy any textbooks until I see if the my books from Textbook Brokers,” said art senior professors are actually going to use them. I got tired Kyra Walker. “Their prices were slightly cheaper of buying a pile of books that I never even opened,” than the official bookstore.” said art senior Nohelia Vargas.
48 TRANSITIONS