For many students here at Drew, the Bookstore is our go to location for getting the books we need for our classes. Students should be able to trust that their orders will be processed in a timely manner. However, despite the fact that this is the fourth week of classes, there are many students who are still receiving or waiting for their books. The long wait for essential text books only creates extra frustration for students who are already starting at a disadvantage at the beginning of the semester. However, we at The Drew Acorn recognize that this problem does not rest solely on the Bookstore. They put in a great deal of effort to get books onto the shelves before classes start. In some cases, professors can be late in getting book orders into the Bookstore, explaining the delay in shipments of textbooks. Other times it might be problems with the distributor, such as a required book being on backorder or not in print. No matter whose fault it is, every student has had the experience of going to look for a required book for a course, only to be greeted with the sight of an empty shelf.
There are a few ways to fix this problem. One that is very popular among students is to buy books from online distributors like Amazon or SlugBooks. These sites usually offer better prices, but students can run the risk of purchasing an incorrect version or edition of a book. Some professors understand the cost and difficulty of getting textbooks and provide the students PDF copies to help with both the cost and shipping problems.
At the same time, not every student has had difficulty with the bookstore. While many have had the experience of missing one book, most students have received their orders in a very timely manner. Shipping problems arise when a mass of students order books and this tends to happen at the beginning of every semester. While we admit that these problems are annoying, you should take into account that some things are out of the store’s control. It is helpful to be patient with bookstore staff and talk to them about alternatives in order to get your textbooks in a more timely manner.
