Bookstore Puts Class Booklists Online

In an all-student email Bookstore Manager Bob Jansen said, “Starting with spring semester 2009, we will make our booklist available online through our Bookstore website two weeks before classes start each semester.  The booklist information will contain ISBN, edition, author, title, and our new and used price.  We are immediately making our fall 2008 booklists available online through our Bookstore website.  Information will be provided through our Bookstore website and eventually with a link from registration to our website.”

OK, that’s the change we’ve been waiting for. Booklists online two weeks before classes allows students to purchase textbooks online with enough time to ship the books to Midd in time for the start of classes. At the same time, Jansen brings true transparency to the system by also listing the College Bookstore’s new and used price. This means that students have the immediate comparison option to buy the Bookstore books which sometimes aren’t that much more expensive than online.

Students see this as a huge win (but not nearly epic as Obama). Jansen’s early point that the Bookstore offsets the cost of the College’s expenses still hold true, but we’ll have to wait to see exactly how a theoretical drop in textbook sales for the College affects overall revenue.