HUSC to purchase textbooks for students
Resolution to purchase textbooks passed, to be available for use in library.
Ashley Wirth-Petrik
Issue date: 3/2/10 Section: News
HUSC passed a resolution on Feb. 23 to purchase $6,000 worth of textbooks that will be available for student use in two weeks.
HUSC placed First-year Representative Katie Gelinas in charge of buying the books with the money drawn from the capital improvement fund, HUSC President David McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the books will be put on reserve in the library, meaning students may check out books for two hours at a time for use in the library.
The list of books to be purchased came from student suggestions, professors and Bookstore Manager Alyssa Sommer.
Gelinas said there was an effort to select books that are in high demand by students and books that are more expensive.
The final list included about 60 titles, and for some, Gelinas said two copies were purchased.
Bush Library Circulation Director Barb Brokopp approached Gelinas while she was in the library working on a DVD-purchasing resolution passed earlier this spring.
Brokopp presented the idea of buying textbooks to be put on reserve in the library. Gelinas thought it was an interesting idea and decided to look into it.
At first, Gelinas went to websites such as Amazon for the books, but was able to save $2,500 by instead purchasing the books directly from the university bookstore. The bookstore is able to give student organizations and departments discounts, Sommer said.
"The librarians have agreed to push the textbooks to high priority and to get them processed as soon as possible," Gelinas said.
Associate Professor and Sociology Chair Sharon Preves appreciates the efforts to purchase textbooks, because she believes it will help students be more prepared for class.
Preves wrote in an e-mail that she has noticed some students not coming to class prepared due to lack of funds for textbooks.
"I've become aware of more and more of my students not being able to afford to buy some or all of their books for my classes. I do think that HUSC's plan to spend $6,000 on textbooks for the library will be money well-spent, as long as the book orders are consistent with what professors are using for their classes," Preves wrote.
HUSC placed First-year Representative Katie Gelinas in charge of buying the books with the money drawn from the capital improvement fund, HUSC President David McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the books will be put on reserve in the library, meaning students may check out books for two hours at a time for use in the library.
The list of books to be purchased came from student suggestions, professors and Bookstore Manager Alyssa Sommer.
Gelinas said there was an effort to select books that are in high demand by students and books that are more expensive.
The final list included about 60 titles, and for some, Gelinas said two copies were purchased.
Bush Library Circulation Director Barb Brokopp approached Gelinas while she was in the library working on a DVD-purchasing resolution passed earlier this spring.
Brokopp presented the idea of buying textbooks to be put on reserve in the library. Gelinas thought it was an interesting idea and decided to look into it.
At first, Gelinas went to websites such as Amazon for the books, but was able to save $2,500 by instead purchasing the books directly from the university bookstore. The bookstore is able to give student organizations and departments discounts, Sommer said.
"The librarians have agreed to push the textbooks to high priority and to get them processed as soon as possible," Gelinas said.
Associate Professor and Sociology Chair Sharon Preves appreciates the efforts to purchase textbooks, because she believes it will help students be more prepared for class.
Preves wrote in an e-mail that she has noticed some students not coming to class prepared due to lack of funds for textbooks.
"I've become aware of more and more of my students not being able to afford to buy some or all of their books for my classes. I do think that HUSC's plan to spend $6,000 on textbooks for the library will be money well-spent, as long as the book orders are consistent with what professors are using for their classes," Preves wrote.
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