CGC Bookstore offers fair deal
By Happie Thacker
Staff Writer
Now that winter term has started it's
time to buy all the required texts for classes
at Clackamas Community College. With
moans of pain students are digging deeper
into their bank accounts and grumbling about
the rising costs of these necessary books.
If it is any consolation the Clackamas
Community College Bookstore gives stu
dents a very fair deal on new and used
texts.
According to Doug Shannon, who has
been bookstore manager for the last three
years, college bookstores are a losing pro
position and exist mainly as a convenience
to students.
Required texts are determined by the
various instructors and although some make
Roberts
lobbies
for child
care
Editor's note: January 10 marks the
beginning of the state legislative session.
This is the first in a series of articles that
will present a glimpse of upcoming bills that
have an impact on students.
Associated Student Government Senator
Ken Roberts is conducting a survey this
week to gather data for a legislative bill that
would provide child care as part of the
financial aid program.
The bill would enable an individual with
a demonstrated need for child care service to
receive a voucher that will be accepted by
accredited child care centers throughout the
community as payment.
Student parents, regardless of financial
aid status, are encouraged to fill in a survey
form. The forms can be picked up at the
table in the Community Center Mall.
This information should be turned in to
the student activities office by Friday, Jan.
7. This information will be compiled as
supporting evidence demonstrating the need
for legislation.
Class offered
for single parents
Single parents having difficulties in cop
ing with child raising may be interested in
The Single Parent Experience, a new class
offered by Clackamas Community College.
"Life for a single parent can often be a
difficult experience, the class is designed to
help people through a very trying time,"
explained class instructor, Tom Tison.
The class will be taught winter term on
Tuesday from 7-10 p.m. in Barlow 253.
Fee for the class is $36.
their decisions based on price, many just say,
"That's the book I want, so you'll have to
buy it."
Normally the bookstore tries to get used
books from used book stores, but it is more
difficult to get used books for winter term
than it is for fall term.
"There are not as many used books for
winter term because of the time element
involved," said Shannon. "For fall term I
have most of the summer to try to find
used books, but there are only 19 working
days in November and that is not enough
time to contact all the used book outlets
after I get the requests from the instruc
tors."
This means that Shannon has to buy
new books direct from the publishers. These
books all have a list price set by the pub
lisher and that is what they are sold for
here and at other bookstores in the area.
Generally this is 20 per cent above cost
since bookstores get a 20 per cent discount
from the publisher and mark books accord
ingly.
However, the bookstore is not getting
rich on this mark up.
It costs more than 20 per cent to handle
the books. Salaries, rent, utilities, adver
tising costs, unsold textbooks, office sup
plies and equipment rental and repair all
have to come out of this mark-up. In addi
tion freight cost for shipping the books
comes off the top and is absorbed by the
store.
"We absorbed $19,000 dollars in freight
costs that was not passed on to students,"
said Margaret Edwards, manager of the
Portland Community College Bookstore.
Bookstores must carry extras - supplies,
cards and sundries - to make up the
difference, she said. PCC, like CCC, usually
marks these items up 40 per cent over cost
to help make up the difference between cost
outlay and cash income.
"Taxpayers can't afford to subsidize book
stores," Edwards said. "My job as manager
is to keep our heads above water."
This sentiment is echoed by Shannon.
"I feel that the bookstore is a convenience
to students but it has to be run with a
semblance of business-like operation. It's a
business and must be run as such and must
meet overhead expenses."
Prices of books have gone up in recent
years because of increasing paper and labor
cost. Also, there is no way to buy books
on a comparative basis. They can only be
bought from one publisher who sets the
price.
Even the Portland State University book
store, which is a multi-million dollar inde
pendent operation, loses revenue from the
sale of textbooks.
Although textbooks account for 50 per
cent of their business, the PSU bookstore
must make up the difference with customer
service and a broad range of general mer
chandise.
Colleges have an investment in theirt
stores but would like to get rid of then
cause they are a losing proposition,
Peter Paskill, who has been managero
PSU bookstore for five years.
"The problem most students and s
run into are problems with changes in ft
said Paskill. "If instructors change textl
requirements the bookstore can't buyi
back from students."
Both PSU and PCC buy books bat
50 per cent of what students paid fortl
PSU buys books back all year long and
pay wholesale price for texts that will
be used again. The marketable life of al
is usually three years, but many books
used for much longer than that and
bought and sold at a price determine)
the bookstore.
The CCC bookstore has a better deal
students. They'll pay 62.5 per cent atl
back time and will sell the book back
an added 25 per cent. The other books!
charge 75 per cent of the initial retail.'
of the book.
The CCC bookstore has only show
profit for the last three years. Part of
profit is being absorbed by the incrs
rate of buy-back.
The rest of the profits are being usei
repay a loan from the college's general#
that was used to buy the bookstores
ginal inventory.
As soon as the loan is repaid the
fits will be returned to the students.
"Our idea is to make it (the books!
as nearly self-supporting as possible,"
Bill Ryan, CCC business manager, "wedi
want to show a profit so we will incn
buy-back rates and decrease the mark-u|
new books."
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Page 6
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