Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Campus By HARRY HOPE For years book prices at the Campus Shop have been a sore point between students and administration. The price of books, like most other things, has risen drasti cally over the past few years. Textbook prices especially have risen. "Textbooks are specialized reading," Marion Dantzler, manager of the USC Campus Shop, said. "You wouldn't ordi narily go into a bookst6re to buy a textbook for your own per sonal reading. It's just too deep." Dantzler explained that tex tbook prices are fixed by the publishers, who sell the books at retail, less 20 per cent. The 20 per cent mark-up is the pro fit. But often during the first week of the semester, the required text for a course is sold out. Students either have to re-order or they go to Dantzler's nearest competitor, the South Carolina Bookstore. "When we run out of books, we have to re-order from the publisher," Dantzler explained. "But when they (the S. C. Book store) run out, all they have to do is order from one of the branch stores and it can be in on the next bus or by freight express or whatever." - The S. C. Bookstore is owned by the Alabama Book Co., and has several branch stores in South Carolina. "Sometimes when we go to re order a book, we get a note from the publisher that the book is no longer in stock," Dantzler said. "Then we re-order, but sometimes it takes weeks." When an instructor decides which books will be needed for his course, he completes an order from the Campus Shop and South Carolina Bookstore, listing title, author and pub lisher, and how many books are needed. Dantzler and his work asy To Open Gamecock Charge Account, *100 (Limit) BRITTON S Shop figi 0.J' ers then check their lists to make sure the book is available. Another item they check is the number of texts the instruc tor estimates he will need. "We look to see if a professor has estimated right in the past," Dantzler said. "For example, if, the last time he taught this course, he ordered 100 books and only 20 students took the course, well, we have 80 left over. "And suppose this time he teaches the course, he orders 20 books and 100 students wind up in ..he class, and we only ordered about 20. What do you do?" he said. The often incorrect estimates by the professor is another trou ble spot because, if the books are not sold, they must be sold back to the publisher, who will only buy back a certain number of the books, according to 10Osi BICY Quality European Bi Manufactured By: O Paris-Sport, Falcon-1V In Colu CAT E'S C Box Cedar Terrace ! 6420 Sumter Phe 776. 1:15 to 8.m. M its compe 00,0 Drawing by Rick Baty Dantzler. Dantzler said that what the publisher cannot buy back must be sold to used book wholesalers for a much lower price than was paid. This is the reason that the Campus Shop sets a limit on the time they will buy the books. Another problem, Dantzler said, is that teachers often change the texts for a particular course each year, or even each semester. Then the books that the shop has bought from stu dents are no longer usable. "It used to be that each department had a standard list of books to be used in each course," Dantzler said, "but that has changed. Now you can look and see about three or four sets of books for English 101, say, or often more than that for other courses." REED CLES eycles From $95.00 itane, Bottecchia, [aino, Cinelli, Colnago mbia See: OTT AGE 9342 ~hopping Center Hwy. (29209) ne: 1209 on. through sat. tition, risii It is up to each teacher to decide what - and how many - books will be used in each course. "As far as we're concerned," Dantzler said, "it is their job to impart the knowledge and they know what they need for the students. We just try to supply the books. "We have tried to get profes sors to let us tell them which publishers are more co operative about getting us books," Dantzler said. "In a case where the professor needs either this book or that book, we could tell him which publisher would get us the book faster, cheaper and easier. "But most professors won't do that," he said. Alternatives to the campus shop textbook sales have been tried in the past. A student book exchange was started in the Spring semester of 1971 but failed. Dantzler feels that the failure was due to the fact that no one handled the detail work and that a lot of students did not get the money for the books they were selling. Another attempt at setting up a Student Book Exchange is being made by student govern ment officials for next semes ter. Also, the Afro-American Association has set up an exchange for its members. In these book exchanges, stu dents who had books to buy or sell listed them on a bulletin GAME The Gamecock is published twice w ing the fall and spring semesters with and exam periods. Change of address forms, subscrip should be sent to The Gamecock, Dre Subscription rate is $3 per semeste from the student activity fund entitlinj Offices of The Gamecock are rooms on the university campus. Telephone and 777-3888, advertising. Second cli VA LENTIN R EMINDE R Valentine's Day, Sentimental Humorous Family Vi All kinds from 5c Lollip T he Ca m RUS SELLI ng prices board. Other students interested in these books con tacted the prospective buyer or seller, and the money changed hands between the two students directly. Sometimes, though, the books for a given course had been changed, or the student who bought the books failed to pay for them. The experiment was not repeated. Dantzler said that these exchanges have not offered him any serious competition. His competition is from the S. C. Bookstore. "Most people pass the S. C. Bookstore on their way to the Coliseum to register," he said. "And some students actually think that the S. C. Bookstore is the official University book store. "He's really got a better loca tion than I have," Dantzler said. The Campus Shop manager also stated that plans were being discussed to expand the lower floor of the Campus Shop to accommodate the more than 3000 textbook titles in stock. This expansion will also add extra room for paperbacks and records, which also sell well in the Campus Shop. But for the present, Dantzler agrees that he is caught between students, professors and publishers. "We'll keep working to make this better," he said. OCK eekly on Monday and Thursday dur the exception of university holidays tions requests and other mail items wer A, USC, Columbia, S. C., 29208. r. The Gamecock received $38,000 full-time students to a subscription. 317, 318 and 319 in Russell House s are 777-8178 and 777-4249, news, ass postage paid at Columbia, S. C. February 14th Valentines Valentines ilenti nes of candy ops to $5 boxes pus Shop HOUSER