Monday, July 30, 2001- The Michigan Daily - 3
Internet offers options for
buying, selling textbooks
By David Baybik Book buyback has also remained a factor in the
Daily StaffReporter online versus traditional store decision Michigan
Ward Ernst spends a relaxing Sunday morning at his Dexter farm. Ernst, who
will be 90 years old In September, credits charity work and "staying close to
the Lord" for his longevity.
Veto denies funds for
renovations on School
bf Public Health at U
Book and Supply curre
Long lines and lengthy wait times appear to be the that will purchase a tex
trend at local "brick and mortar" bookshops across its origin. "Students ma
campus. But on-line booksellers such as less of where it was pur
ecampus.coit, efollet. cost and a vast array of others VrsityBooks.com is<
swarm the market with an insatiable thirst for college ers" that will not pur
bank accounts. Although these online book merchants those that do, such as ec
have made a presence in the minds of college students costs of shipping to the
and an imprint on the textbook industry, students and A third option for st
local bookstores don't seem to feel a
sharp impact.
Close-to-home booksellers see a mar-
ginal slump in textbook sales and shrug
off online conapanies hy providing suh-
stantiated customer service, simple
worry-free return policies and reason-
ably competitive prices.
"We haven't really seen them (online
textbook merchants) affect our sales.
People aren't satisfied with paying
shipping costs and the time involved
with searching and waiting for books,"
said Adam Howell, store manager at
Michigan Book and Supply. "We
adhere to a general standard, we watch
our prices and maintain competitive-
ness."
According to Howell, the only effects
Michigan Book and Supply has seen as .
a result of online book offerings is a
longer waiting period before purchas-
ing.
"Students wait longer to purchase
their books, and buy them closer to the
beginning of the semester," Howell
said. "Online sales just offer a negative
experience for students."
Students take the time to seek other
prices online but soon find their time is Students are discovering the conveniences
worth more than the three or four dol- online.
lars saved. books from one anoth
Though on-campus booksellers are able to provide approach to obtaining,
instant book gratification, online dealers feel com- student book exchange3
pelled to leverage all facets of the mail order business The Student Book Ex
to keep up. run book drive aimed a
"Our books ship out in 24 hours and customers seeking endeavors. Stu
receive them no later than five business days via sale and set their own
UPS," said Chief Operation Manager Mark Uhl. "The days, and the remaining
number one advantage is not having to go on campus, reserved for purchasin
stand in line, and wade through the crowds each than student receives F
semester." the remaining amount
Uhl added, "Shipping overnight is possible, and if costs of overhead. The
you order it before I1 a.m. EST you will get it the for the fall tet
next day." http://wwv.umich.edu/
ntly offers a buyback program
tbook in demand regardless of
y sell their books back regard-
chased," Howell said.
among a select few of "e-tail-
chase used books online. Of
tcampus.om, may not cover the
ir warehouses.
Louie Meizlish
ailyNetsEditor
The University's School of Public
ealth will have to wait at least another
ear for renovations.
Michigan Gov. John Engler (R)
sed his line-item veto power to
ove an appropriation from Senate
1 283. The appropriation would
have paved the way for a $43 million
bond for proposed renovations.
"This item ... would reduce avail-
able bond capacity to below $100 mil-
lion," Engler explained in his veto
message. The current bond capacity is
$2.7 billion.
Acting School of Public Health Dean
Alexander said the move did not
e as a surprise.
"It was not unexpected given the fis-
cal health of the state, which is not the
best of late," Alexander said. "We had
relatively low expectations that this
would sail through this year."
Alexander said the renovations would
include new offices and laboratories for
the school in addition to a wing connect-
ing the school's two buildings, the
Henry F Vaughan Public Health build-
g and the Thomas Francis Jr. Building.
'A lot of the work we do requires
laboratory facilities which are becom-
ing desperately obsolete," he said.
"Since ... (the Francis Building) was
constructed, the student body has dou-
bled and research has increased nearly
threefold," University Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer
Robert Kasdin wrote in a February
2000 letter to the Board of Regents.
*He added the bulk of the renovations
would consist of gutting and rebuilding
the Vaughan Building, which was built
in 1942, while relatively little work
would be concentrated on the Francis
Building, constructed in 1971.
Cynthia Wilbanks, University vice
"A lot of the work we do
requires laboratory
facilities which are
becoming desperately
obsolete."
- Jeff Alexander
Acting Dean, School of Public Health
president for government relations, said
she realized state funding for the renova-
tions might be unlikely when the state
began using bondsinstead of cash for sev-
eral of its major building projects, includ-
ing the Michigan Hall of Justice, which
will house the state Supreme Court.
Alexander and Wilbanks both main-
tained that securing funds for the reno-
vations remains one of the University's
top priorities and vowed to ask the state
for the funds once again next year.
Alexander does not expect the Legisla-
ture to override Engler's veto.
State Budget Office spokeswoman
Kelly Chesney said the governor did not
want to use up all available bond capac-
ity in case of emergencies.
"We have a lot of projects that are
underway ... and many that are in the
pipeline," she said, adding current
bonded projects include the renovations
of the School of Natural Resources and
Environment's Charles T. Dana Build-
ing and College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts' Mason and Haven Halls.
As bonds expire, Chesney said, addi-
tional bond capacity becomes available
for new projects. Chesney said she did-
n't know when bonds for the renova-
tions would be available.
In the meantime, Alexander said
minor renovations would be underway
but major renovations will not be under-
taken until state funding becomes avail-
able. In addition,he said,the Uiversity
is seeking funds from private donors.
ier. An increasingly popular
textbooks is through mediated
programs.
change is a non-profit student-
at aiding students in their book
dents bring in their books for
asking price for the first two
g two days of the exchange are
g. If a student's book is sold,
85 percent of the revenue and
goes to the SBE to cover the
SBE's selling and buying dates
rm may be found at
-sbe.
Account Executive
I
otthe Week
lob Glaza
The Michigan Daily
would like to thank
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