Back when the bookstore opened in November, University administrators were excited about the potential opportunities the new space could offer. Students, however, worried about the additional inconvenience the move of their familiar bookstore could add to their already hectic schedules.
Especially when textbook time hits.
In the November 9th issue of The Mirror, the front page article “The Books are Back in Town” said, “Fitzpatrick echoed Schoenfeldt’s [the campus materials manager] statement, saying that they don’t want to inconvenience the students” by putting the bookstore and book pickup in town. The original plan had been that students were allowed to get their books on-campus until a specific cut-off date, when they would have to take the shuttle to town for their required materials.
Good idea, but it didn’t quite work out as smoothly as planned.
Numerous students ran into difficulties this past week trying to pick up their textbooks in the on-campus and off-campus locations after pre-ordering book purchases or rentals. Some students, expecting all of their books to be ready for them to pick up at the on-campus bookstore, discovered that some of their books were on backorder and unavailable. This left them having to scramble on the first day to class to find other ways to rent or buy their books – definitely not a fun way to start the semester. Other people went to the Oak Room looking to pick up their books, as noted on the bookstore website, only to figure out that their books were actually downstairs. Overall, it wasn’t the simplest way to get your books and added negatively to the stress level of the semester.
Hopefully this year’s challenges occurred only because it was the first time book purchases and rental pick-ups were being done between the two locations, and next year the kinks will all be worked out.
At least we can hope…
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