[nabs-l] Bookstore problems
Elizabeth Mohnke
lizmohnke at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 24 01:08:41 UTC 2014
Hello Kaiti,
Sounds like there was a systematic lapse of communication between the
college and the professors and the bookstore. I can understand that you
would want to purchase your books from the bookstore if that is the only way
to make use of the book scholarship. However, if you are not able to receive
your textbooks in a timely manner then I would wonder how much the
scholarship is really worth and would consider purchasing your textbooks
somewhere else if you are not able to get them when you need them.
Other people have already suggested other ideas for what to do when you are
not able to obtain your textbook on time. In addition to what has already
been said, I would suggest forming a study group with someone who has a copy
of the textbook if they are in limited supply. You could have the members of
the group take turns reading the textbook aloud while you take notes on what
is being read from the textbook. You could also offer everyone else in the
group a copy of these notes in exchange for reading the textbook aloud for
you. You could even offer to bring some munchies for the study group too.
This way you could still participate in the study group even though you
could not read the textbook aloud to other members of the study group.
Warm regards,
Elizabeth
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
via nabs-l
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 11:59 PM
To: Arielle Silverman; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Bookstore problems
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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>
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--
Kaiti
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