The bookstore regularly receives inquiries about textbook related issues. This information has been compiled from the answers provided by the Bookstore staff and the National Association of College Stores.
Textbooks are a valuable resource for students.
They supplement and enhance classroom instruction, provide a common intellectual platform, offer additional references and perspectives, and are excellent review tools. While we understand that students are concerned about the price of textbooks, the real issue is not price, but value. When textbooks are integral to a course, and faculty teach and test from them, the book is seen more as an investment and less as an unnecessary or forced purchase. Textbook prices reflect real costs and a reasonable return on investment for authors, publishers, distributors, and the bookstore. Textbooks are free for most students until they reach college.