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UO Bookstore
explains prices
■The bookstore has hung
informative posters and asks
students to consider the
worth of their books’ content
By Jenny Moore
Oregon Daily Emerald
The lines at the University Book
store are waning, but complaints
about the high cost of textbooks are
still running high.
Thousands of students spent the
first week of the spring term looking
for the lowest prices by scouring Web
sites and used bookstores in the
hopes of finding a good deal. Staff
members of the bookstore, aware
that students are both savvy and
critical consumers, are trying to
lessen the sticker shock by explain
ing the rising cost of textbooks.
In an effort to reveal the costs of
production, staff members hung a
poster called “Where Does Your
Textbook Dollar Go?” Students may
have also noticed a 15-minute video
called “Straight Talk About Text
books” that was produced by The
College Stores Research & Educa
tional Foundation. The video is an
appeal for students to consider the
worth of a textbook not in dollar
amounts, but in the value of the in
formation presented within its
pages.
Naturally, as textbook prices have
risen, students are in the habit of de
termining value by balancing the
cost against the return they make at
the end of the term.
“In reality, the value of the book
should be the learning opportunity
from its content, not its resale val
ue,” said Chris Standish, book divi
sion manager at the bookstore.
For some students, the relation
ship between value and content
raises complex questions. Students
might ask if science textbooks, for
instance, are more expensive because
of the value of the information.
“Value and worth are two differ
ent things,” said Evon Smith of
Smith Family Bookstore. “I think
the University of Oregon Bookstore
is trying to justify the cost of text
books by saying there is an inherent
value of the information inside the
book. There are a lot of assumptions
built into that viewpoint.”
According to a study by Monu
ment Information Resources, a mar
ket information source for the col
lege textbook publishing industry,
the average cost of a new textbook
in spring 2000 was $68.15. Accord
ingly, students spent an average of
$619 in “the college store” during
the 1999-2000 academic year. De
pending on whether campus book
stores are institutional, private or
contracted, profits earned from text
book sales are allocated differently.
Because the University bookstore
is owned by students, faculty and
staff, profits “are frequently fun
neled back to the campus for other
projects and uses,” Standish said.
While students agree that text
books are expensive, there is some
solace in the fact that there are in
creasing opportunities to shop
around. As consumers, students are
learning the tools to make their own
value judgments.
Friday, April 27th
8 pm • Mac Court
Norm
011381
Tickets on sale Friday, April 6th. Student: $12.50, GP: $17.50 (plus service charges).
Available at the UO ticket Office, all Fastixx locations, or charge by phone 5464363, or (800) 992-TIXX y
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