Labyrinth: Professors’ textbook needs raise costs

Correction Appended

Labyrinth Books experiences a number of difficulties in its interaction with professors that may impact the convenience of purchasing and the pricing of course books, Labyrinth co-owner Cliff Simms said at Sunday night’s USG meeting.

Fifteen percent of professors do not submit course book lists to Labyrinth until the first day of classes, Simms said. Even after lists of course books are submitted to the store, roughly 85 percent of the lists are later altered, often because professors decide to change the lists, he added.

Simms acknowledged the high costs of many textbooks but noted that Labyrinth’s efforts to lower costs are often thwarted by professors’ needs.

He noted that many professors are unwilling to change their book lists or allow students to use older editions of textbooks to lower costs. Some professors also “have wrung our necks for getting all used book,” he said.

“We do have on the website when professors order, [they can check] is this edition required? Will you take an old edition?” he said. He noted, however, that most professors do not check this option.

U-Councilor Liz Rosen ’10 said that the University should limit the cost of course books to $150 per class, and that “if this absolutely was not possible ... the University could subsidize Labyrinth [for any amount above $150].”

The bookstore is looking for a “sustainable policy,” Simms said. It is currently examining a number of possibilities to lower book prices, including discounts, matching amazon.com prices and enabling students to order books and then pick them up at the store when they come in.

When USG communications director Andrew Malcolm ’09 asked Simms “what services are offered at Labyrinth that you can’t get from an online bookseller,” Simms answered that it is easier to return books to the physical store than to ship them back to an online retailer.

Simms said that solving the kinks in the system would involve input from a representative body of students.

“If we could conduct a real focus group and present what students’ real concerns are to faculty, and then we can work with faculty, then I think that would have more of an impact than us mandating a price” to professors, Simms said.

“This is an issue we need to start showing some leadership on," U-Councilor Jacob Candelaria ’09 said, referring to Simms’ suggestions.

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University Services associate director Maureen McWhirter noted that the store does “do a lot of that ... legwork trying to get the cost down as much as possible.”

At the meeting, USG vice president Mike Wang ’10 discussed findings from the focus group on the Committee on Background and Opportunity survey results held last Thursday.

The focus group concluded that a large problem lies in “people not knowing what financial aid was available to them,” Wang said. He cited a common misconception among students that if they meet with a financial aid counselor for a mid-year re-evaluation, they risk seeing their aid decrease.

Wang also said that Charter Club has instituted a new payment program specifically for students on financial aid to help sophomore members pay dues.

USG director of external affairs and head Ivy Council delegate Emma Dinsmore ’09 also presented the results of last week’s Ivy Council fall policy colloquium. She noted that Princeton compares favorably with other Ivy League schools in terms of its environmental sustainability and administrative transparency.

But there is still room for improvement, Dinsmore noted. For example, the University may want to consider starting a recycling bank similar to Columbia’s, which awards students cash points based on how much they recycle. Displaying caloric contents of food in dining halls, as Yale does, should also be considered, she said.

Dinsmore also explained that the University offers “few social alternatives to drinking in the eating clubs,” and there are “a relatively high number of alcohol citations on campus,” Dinsmore said. One contributing factor may be that, unlike many of the other Ivies, Princeton lacks a campus pub, she noted.

But while Princeton has a stricter alcohol policy than other schools do, the “hazards of sending your friend to McCosh” were not as severe as at other colleges in terms of confidentiality and cost, campus and community affairs chair Cindy Hong ’09 explained. Hong, one of nine Princeton students who attended the colloquium, is also a columnist for The Daily Princetonian.

School spirit also shows need for improvement, Dinsmore noted.

While Princetonians “tend to be very proud of the school ... we have trouble rallying together” unless “particular sports are doing very well,” Dinsmore said. She suggested that one way to encourage students to come to more events might be to offer them incentives, adding that Brown already gives its students free merchandise for attending sports games.

Correction

The original version of this story stated that 50 percent of professors do not submit course book lists to Labyrinth until the first day of classes. In fact, 15 percent do not do so.