[nabs-l] Bookstore problems

Tue Sep 23 03:59:13 UTC 2014

Hi all,

I am not required to buy my books on campus, but the scholarship I
have is there so it is silly to not use it.  At least, that was my
thinking before I realized that these changes were made and it would
take forever for me to just get the print copies of the books so I
could exchange my receits for the text files the DS office had done
well in advance of the school year.  I did end up buying one book from
Amazon this semester, but looking ahead to next semester and next
year, I think I should have the right to use my book scholarship and
get my books on-time like everyone else in my class who qualified for
it.  Especially since I submit my alternative format requests way in
advance of the start of each semester, it's silly to have the books
done and stuck in the DS office where they can't be used.

I'm hoping that the manager will be willing to let me continue paying
in advance for any print copies which don't come in due to bookstore
error when the DS office has them ready to be picked up.  I have no
problem with paying via my scholarship, and look at it this way; if I
pay for the book and never actually pick up the print copy, that's one
more they have in their stock so its a win win situation.  I'm just
shocked that the DS office didn't say something before I did.  I told
them back in the first and second weeks of school the issues I was
having, and though the worked wieth me to make sure I was still able
to do my assignments they didn't actually work towards putting more
than a bandaid on the problem.

I've thought about trying to organize a group of students on campus to
discuss issues like this and to get a little more backing on certain
things, but the DS office seems pretty tight-lipped when it comes to
confidentiality.  I really don't know that many other people who go to
the DS office for accomodations even though I do know they're out
there, so I'm not quite sure how I'd start such a group.  It's a great
idea that could be really awesome if carried out though.

On 9/20/14, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Kaiti,
> Any chance you can buy your books, at least some of them, on Amazon
> and email your receipts to the disability office? Or are you required
> to buy books on campus?
> Any books available on Learning Ally or BookShare?
> Arielle
>
> On 9/20/14, Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Kaiti,
>>
>> That sounds like a huge mess. I'm sure professors will complain loudly;
>> full
>>
>> time professors have committee meetings and those working there years
>> have
>> power; I'm sure they hate the system as much as students.
>>
>> What I do is rather than mess with online stuff wich is probably half
>> accessible, I go to the bookstore with my schedule and ask a store person
>> to
>>
>> walk around with me for books; I get used if possible. I pay for them.
>> then, the last step I do is the same as you.
>> I give a copy of my receit to the disabilities office so they can get me
>> alternative format books.
>>
>> In your case, I suggest speaking to the manager which you already did.
>> For books you did not receive, I can only think of four options. Order
>> from
>>
>> amazon, barns and noble, or other vendor.
>> You  could also borrow a friend's copy and scan relevant sections.
>> You might even borrow your professor's copy and do the same.
>> The library may have a copy on reserve which you could use.
>> Finally, you might ask other students who took the class if you can buy
>> their copy at a discount. I know at my schools, students have  often
>> bought
>>
>> used books from other students. Have someone walk around campus with you
>> to
>>
>> look for used book fliers as well. At least at Marymount where I was,
>> those
>>
>> were often around bulletin boards.
>>
>>
>> In terms of advocacy, maybe you can get a group of students with
>> disablities
>>
>> to
>> speak up about this.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Ashley
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l
>> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 11:21 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Bookstore problems
>>
>> Hi, NABSters,
>>
>> I'm having a serious issue with my university's bookstore, and I'm
>> wondering if a few of you could weigh in with suggestions as to how I
>> might work to change it.
>>
>> Until this semester, I could order my textbooks in advance online.
>> The site was super accessible, and since it is linked to my schedule
>> on our university management site, all I had to do was make sure all
>> the books were in my cart and check out.  All the books would be
>> packaged up in boxes and ready for pick up when I got to school, and
>> since I got an electronic receipt emailed to me when I completed my
>> orders online, I could just forward it right away to my disability
>> services coordinator, and she would give me most of my books weeks
>> before school started.  It was a great system.
>>
>> However, the bookstore decided to stop taking online orders.  Starting
>> with my class, everyone has had the option to take advantage of a book
>> scholarship.  This scholarship program is part of a U.S Dept of
>> Education grant the school received, and allows for qualifying
>> students to receive a 500 ddollar allowance to use on textbooks per
>> semester for four years.  This has encouraged more people to buy books
>> directly from the university store, where they can essentially get
>> them for free or for significantly less, rather than go to Amazon,
>> Cheg, or other sources to get their books.  I guess for the first two
>> years the book scholarship program was in place everything worked
>> great, but now with three classes of students qualifying for books,
>> and most of the people wanting to not spend money when they don't have
>> to open their wallets, the bookstore decided the demand was too great
>> for the man-power they had, so they stopped accepting online orders
>> and now have everyone come to the bookstore once they're on campus to
>> buy their books.
>>
>> This has created several problems for the general campus student
>> without any extenuating circumstances or disabilities.  E.G, the way
>> professors submit adoptions or book orders is different now, so the
>> bookstore lost the adoption one of my professors placed, and only
>> ordered enough books for one section of his class when he teaches two.
>> Another class I'm in doesn't have books yet because for some reason
>> the bookstore didn't realize that class would be taught this semester,
>> so they didn't replenish their supply of the book.  One person in the
>> class is sharing the last copy the store had with everyone else.
>> Thank goodness it's a class that meets once a week so everyone can get
>> their reading done.  The other book for the class wasn't in either,
>> and the professor just decided to loan out her personal copies until
>> the bookstore got the ones for the class in.  Because the bookstore
>> didn't take online orders, they didn't really have an accurate count
>> of how many books they would need to order for each class.  I saw
>> plenty of students in the special order line when I was in there
>> trying to sort out my stuff, "special order" being for books that
>> aren't necessarily rare, but just aren't in any of the bulk orders the
>> bookstore thought to place.  Plenty of sighted students have had to
>> wait for books to come in, have had to special order things for their
>> classes, and professors have needed to postpone assignments when their
>> class was textbook-less.  Overall, it's just a less-efficient system
>> that isn't working for anyone.
>>
>> The problem for me, and other students who get alternative formats, is
>> that legally the university can't give out the alternative format copy
>> without a receipt.  When I went to special order two of my books, I
>> tried to get the employees to give me a receipt for my order.  They
>> refused, and said that I would get a receipt when I picked the books
>> up and paid for them then.  They would not let me pay in advance, even
>> though sooner or later I would pay for and get the book in some order
>> anyway.
>>
>> Today, when I took my third trip to the bookstore to check on another
>> book which is still not in, I asked if my special order I had placed 2
>> weeks ago had arrived, because I was told I would be notified by phone
>> when it came in and it had been a while.  I picked up two other books
>> a week ago, and the third book I placed on special order along with
>> the other two was not in then.   I didn't get a phone call about those
>> other two books even though they had been on the shelf when I checked
>> in person, so I just wanted to check again in the store.  This time I
>> was a little more insistent with the employees that they figure out
>> what was going on with my textbook, because it was my third trip
>> there, and I wasn't receiving phone calls I was told I would receive,
>> so I wanted to leave there with the book or with knowledge about what
>> was going on.  They called the publisher and said that the order was
>> automatically canceled by them when they saw I ordered the second
>> edition of the book rather than the third, and Oxford Press didn't
>> tell the bookstore that they did that.  How I, the student, am
>> supposed to know that happened when the second edition is what the
>> bookstore site said I should buy is beyond me, and I mentioned to them
>> that the other students in my class who don't have their books will
>> probably come in wanting new orders as well because midterms are in 2
>> weeks, and no one has their stuff yet except for one person.  I then
>> tried to get them to somehow give me proof of order or purchase, which
>> I had tried to do with some other books before when I special ordered
>> them.  I had already been told once that they won't let me pay for the
>> books in advance as I mentioned before, but I told them that it is
>> pointless for the Disabil8ity office to have these books done and to
>> have put all the time into converting them, and for them to not be
>> able to give them to me on a technicality that isn't their fault.
>> Plus, by week 5 of school, it is ridiculous that people are still
>> having isssues getting books, and it really does hold the people with
>> alternative formats hostage because we can't just borrow someone
>> else's book to get our reading done.  I finally got a manager and
>> explained the situation I'm having, and he went with me to a register
>> and told the casheer to charge me for the book in advance so I could
>> have a receipt to take to the disability office and get my book.
>>
>> The textbook manager seemed to understand why this is a problem, and
>> apologized for not thinking about it when they changed how things work
>> for ordering books, but it is clear that the disability office hasn't
>> said anything to the bookstore, and no other student has explained the
>> problems related to alternative formats and getting the print copy so
>> we can get the alternative copy to the manager.  I know there are
>> plenty of students on my campus who use alternative format textbooks,
>> but I guess I'm going to have to be the one who is the squeaky wheel.
>> The only issue is that I'm not exactly sure what to do next now that
>> I've explained what the problem is.  I have the textbook manager's
>> name now and know how to get ahold of him directly, but this is a
>> bigger issue than just getting my personal books, and I'd like for it
>> to be fixed next semester.  Who knows; maybe changes that would make
>> it easier for people to order in advance to get alternative formats
>> would make the system more like what it was, and therefore easier for
>> everybody.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>> --
>> Kaiti
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kaiti
>>
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-- 
Kaiti