| February 5, 1999 |
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Calvin College Chimes
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Solving the book buying headache By Kathleen Minkner The Calvin Bookstore has been the epitome of busyness, with students wandering around looking for the right book, buying supplies or standing in line. However, according to systems administrator Esther Waid, crowding in the bookstore has improved over the years. “In past years the lines have been to the back of the store,” she said. “We used to have to shut the doors because there were so many students.” The bookstore has become more efficient primarily because of the computer checkouts. “Without more space, it’s hard to improve the checkout situation, but we do have faster computers and better scanners this year,” stated Waid. Freshman Rachel Brown agrees. “After I got my books, I waited in line for only 15 minutes. It really helped that they had extra people working and more lines open,” she said. Not all students, however, agree that the lines are moving faster. “I think that they need faster registers because they take to long to process checks and charges,” stated freshman Jen Mathewson.
Rachel Brown, a freshman, doesn’t think that a bigger bookstore is the answer. “At one chapel break, the line to get into the bookstore was out the door, but a bigger store is not necessary because the bookstore is only really busy at the beginning of the semesters,” she stated. Rachel Medema, however, believes that the size of the bookstore is what the problem is. “Calvin has a little bookstore with a lot of students. We are not the only school with problems like these,”she stated. When asked how students react to the bookstore system, Johnson replied, “Students react to the prices.” Most of the time, the biggest complaint is not the disappearing books or long lines, but the cost. “Students have the perception that the bookstore is ripping them off,” said Johnson. “I don’t have a Mercedes at home or anything. The problem is that the textbooks are printed on expensive paper, are fully illustrated, and there are fewer of them.” The bookstore, which is self-sustaining and is not paid for with tuition dollars, did not always group the textbooks by classes. Each textbook was in alphabetical order by author. Though Johnson preferred this system, he said most thought it was stupid. He does admit that grouping the books by class saves space and blocked the aisles less. The hardest part of the book rush is making sure that books come in on time. Johnson orders textbooks for the spring semester as early as October. The snowstorm in January and other factors caused delays in shipping, but many times professors don’t turn in their orders on time. “About 15 percent of professors wait until the last minute,” said Johnson. History Professor Jim Bratt says that the bookstore situation has gotten better over the years. “When I first came here 12 years ago, there were communication problems, but it has gotten better,” he said. Bratt also said that the bookstore still has room for improvement. “When I was a student, the bookstore had more books in general. I don’t think that it is the educational place that it should be.”
Some students feel that the availability of books is a problem. “It took someone 45 minutes to find the book that I needed,” said Sarah Koeze, a sophmore. Freshman Bethany Buning agrees. “Sometimes the books that you need aren’t in and it can be hard to find things.” The Calvin College Bookstore is installing a new online ordering system this summer, which should be ready for fall of next year. The online service will allow students to order new and used textbooks over the Internet. The student can then pick up the books, which are packaged by the bookstore staff for no extra fee. Brown would like to see the online system. “It sounds really convenient -- I would definitely try it.” |
