Douglas College Bookstore Faculty Partnership The Purpose of this document is to foster a collaborative partnership between Douglas College educational Departments, Faculty and the Bookstore in order to focus on providing cost-effective materials to students, to use technology to share information and to have course materials available prior to class start. April 2013
What Faculty and Departments can expect from the Bookstore Course Materials Requisition Reminders Each College discipline selects its own course materials: books, Coursepacks and/or general merchandise. College E-mail reminders with a link to the online course materials requisition form are sent to the Chairs or Coordinators. Previous semester booklists are available on the Bookstore website Used Textbook Availability The Bookstore endeavours to buy as many used texts as possible from students during Buyback and from used book wholesalers: Buyback occurs every semester during exam week. If a text is adopted for the following term at the Bookstore, students receive 50% of the new text price If a text is not adopted, less than 50% may still be offered Textbooks packaged with other components and Custom Publications are not usually eligible for buyback Coursepack / Copyright Assistance Coursepacks represent a valid supplement or alternative to textbooks and ensure students only pay for materials essential for success in their course. In fairness to all students and to ensure we are within the limits of the Fair Dealing policy, we encourage Faculty to compile class notes or supplemental readings into Coursepacks for sale to students. This will facilitate efficient processing by reducing paper costs and our carbon footprint. We also encourage Faculty to contact the Bookstore for help to ensure materials within a Coursepack conform to guidelines for Fair Dealing. Custom Publication Assistance In order to put a custom package together, some publishers offer custom textbook services which compile excerpts from different titles in their selection and could also include material from other publishers. The Bookstore can help facilitate the process and minimize losses due to limited returns allowances. Open Source Textbook Assistance As Open Source Textbooks are adopted, students who wish to print the material may quickly use up their allotment of free printing as they are limited to 300 single sided pages per semester. In an effort to serve the needs of our students, the Bookstore can, dependent upon the rights associated with the material, reproduce the text into a physical Coursepack. The Coursepack would then be listed as optional for the course and be available for sale at the Bookstore in a double sided format for those students who prefer to have a physical copy of the material. General Merchandise Assistance Chemistry goggles, accounting paper, drafting equipment, dissecting kits, athletic tape, stethoscopes, scrubs and scissors are general merchandise items commonly included as required materials for courses. The Bookstore sources the best price on the best quality merchandise, orders sufficient quantities and retains these records for Faculty reference. 1
Prompt Communication Sometimes when researching orders, the Bookstore learns of new editions, substitutions, delays in availability or if a title is no longer available. Should this occur the Bookstore will immediately contact Faculty and/or Chairs/Coordinators by College e-mail. The Bookstore will also advise faculty and/or Chair/Coordinator if a retail price of a title is greater than $200. Research Assistance Looking for a new textbook? The Bookstore has a list of publisher s representatives who can provide information concerning desk/review copies and web-based materials. If you need to know: If a book is available? The retail price students will pay? Are packages available with study guides and/or solutions manuals? Are ebooks available? Are access codes available? Are used books available? How does the price compare with similar texts? How did the previous text sell through? What the Bookstore needs from you: Prompt Receipt of Course Materials Requisition Forms Guideline dates for submission of Course Materials Requisitions afford the Bookstore the best opportunity to have course materials available for sale two weeks prior to a semester start. For example: lead time for purchasing textbooks may be months depending on the location of the supplier, availability of the book and the time of the year: orders placed earlier are much less likely to encounter supply difficulties. Also, receiving prompt course Materials Requisitions enables the sourcing of the more affordable used books. When Coursepack submissions are received late, it can affect the ability of the store to evaluate copyrighted material and secure permissions if the content is beyond fair dealing guidelines. Additionally, printing options may be limited due to the Printshop s workload before each term start. It is important to submit Coursepacks promptly, within 1 month of guidelines, in order to ensure availability for students in time for class start. You can also help by using a Coursepack for more than one term and leaving Coursepack covers undated. The Bookstore orders Coursepacks in relatively small quantities as Printshop orders take minimal time. The Bookstore works to minimize unsold course materials, as these represent a financial loss to the College. Order quantities are adjusted based on historical sales data; details available upon request. Guidelines to submit Course Materials Requisitions to the Bookstore: Fall: Winter: Spring and Summer: Last Week of May Last Week of September Last week of January 2
Support your Course Materials choice If your material choice is essential for success, indicate required on your requisition. If considered an additional resource, or if you don t anticipate that your students will purchase their materials at the Bookstore indicate optional. Recommending alternate purchasing options after requesting the Bookstore order a title as required results in financial losses for the College Price vs. value: anecdotal and survey data states students equate value with usage more than price Encourage students to purchase course materials at the Bookstore within the first five weeks of class before returns to suppliers may begin Why is your College Bookstore the best source for course material purchase? Convenience Correct materials on time eliminate confusion & error Fair pricing: new textbooks are priced using reasonable margins and shipping costs are not included when retails are calculated Refund policies are implemented with discretion and compassion Reduce carbon footprint by shipping once from supplier for a whole class Inclusion on Custom Publication Discussions In most cases, when the Bookstore orders textbooks, publishers allow returns of unsold copies for full credit, within their allowable grace period. This is the case for 90% of the textbooks ordered. However, when the supplier does not permit returns: This means that if all copies do not sell, we are faced with a write-off, resulting in a financial loss to the College. This includes custom publications for which publishers generally allow returns to a maximum of 10% of an order. In cases where an instructor or department wish to use a text/custom publication for which there are limited or no return privileges: ideally the faculty or department would use the title until all copies are sold or advise the Bookstore if they are not satisfied with the product so the Bookstore can assist with vendor negotiations. Before the Bookstore places orders for non returnable books, we will require written confirmation that the department is aware of the return restrictions and will assist the Bookstore when possible with unsold books. The Bookstore will continue to work with faculty to minimize financial risks to the College. Publisher Representatives Assistance Publisher reps are naturally concerned with promoting the sale of new textbooks and packages. When discussing course material options with publisher representatives, please remember to check with the Bookstore to see if there are any concerns about these options: Our concerns would include: Packages (also known as bundles) are the components available separately or are they all required? This could include pincodes, access codes, study guides, solutions manuals, disks etc. Packaging bundles could have implications for students wishing to sell back or buy used. Please be aware of the difference between a package that has components that are being used in class and a package that has extras that are free but not necessary for success in the course. In some cases this could exclude students from the buyback/used 3
book process and they could be spending money unnecessarily. Please check with the Textbook Buyers if you have any questions about a package and its implication for students Non returnable materials including custom materials that have limited returns allowances to publishers Course Outlines If your course outline is distributed in class or is on the web and contains information on required course materials, please ensure the information is up to date with current titles and editions to assist students with correct choices. What should Faculty do with complimentary, desk, or examination copies when finished using them? The following are a few ideas for disposing of unwanted textbook copies: 1. Donate them through the Douglas College Bookstore, to the Better World Books Program which assists students in emerging countries. 2. Pass them along to a colleague who may teach the course. 3. Pass them along to student who cannot afford the book. 4. Sell them at buyback and donate the proceeds to the Douglas College Foundation. And finally..tell us what we can do better! Your feedback is invaluable to us, whether formally or informally, we appreciate it! Contact Information: For Textbooks & Open Source Textbook Enquiries Josie Baker @ 604-777-6258 or bakerj@douglascollege.ca Lori Reining @ 604-777-6259 or reiningl@douglascollege.ca For Coursepack / Copyright Enquiries Michael Byun @ 604-527-5678 or byunm@douglascollege.ca For General Merchandise Heather Peek-Philpott @ 604-527-5012 or peekh@douglascollege.ca All documentation relating to the ordering of course materials, booklists, publisher s information, Coursepacks and copyright can be found on the Bookstore website at: http://www.douglascollege.ca/student-services/essentialresources/bookstore/faculty Any further concerns, contact Linda Valecourt, Mgr. Facilities Services @ 604-527-5013 or valecourtl@douglascollege.ca Just ask we care! 4