Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup
A Bookstore Collaboration Committee was created Nov. 9 by the Associated Students Organization (ASO) with the goal of making textbooks more affordable for students.
The committee will be chaired by ASO President Shani Simms, with Bookstore manager Greg Osweiler serving as the faculty adviser. It will be separated into various departments such as marketing and liaisons between publishers and instructors.
“As of right now, students aren’t doing anything but complaining about Bookstore prices,” said Simms, noting how this is one of the first actions taken by students to try to lower fees. The committee plans to form focus groups to accurately understand what it is students need and want from the Bookstore at Pierce College.
The committee plans on appealing to local businesses for textbook sponsorship.
“One business providing a few thousand dollars can help lower a textbook price by 30 percent,” Osweiler said.
The textbook sponsorship program has been successfully used by other colleges such as College of San Mateo in Northern California, according to Osweiler.
The Bookstore will be offering a textbook rental service for a few select winter intersession titles. According to Osweiler, the bookstore will also begin to implement use of the “Cengage Brain” system, an online system that will offer hundreds of textbook titles to students directly from the publisher at a much lower price than current bookstore prices.
The committee will meet Thursdays at 1 p.m. in the ASO conference room.
