Students Tighten Belts as Textbook Prices Hit Wallets

As the class shopping period comes to a close, Columbia students face an even greater shopping challenge as they empty their pockets to pay for textbooks.

Yet creative schemes to lighten the tab have taken a toll on neighborhood bookstores, which are feeling the economic crunch as declining patronage makes for falling sales.

“I need there to be money in people’s pockets,” said Peter Soter, owner of Morningside Books on Broadway and 114th Street. “People look in their pockets, pull out a ten, and then leave.”

One block south between Broadway and Amsterdam avenues, David Patterson, manager of Book Culture, said he had observed a difference in students’ shopping habits. “People used to buy all their books at once for convenience, but now they are picking and choosing, buying only what they need.”

And students aren’t just buying less. “I’ve noticed a lot more people are selling back their books,” Patterson said.

While many students rely on this opportunity to earn back some cash at both Book Culture and the Columbia University Bookstore, some are not satisfied with the exchange. “I sold back all my books to Book Culture and got back about $15. It was kind of ridiculous,” Jules Colangelo, BC ’12, said.

Some students remain loyal to Book Culture since it’s “the local, independent store,” as Patterson described it, while others turn to the Columbia University Bookstore out of financial necessity or mere proximity to campus. The Columbia University Bookstore declined to comment.

“I go to the bookstore out of convenience. They generally do not have what I need there [Book Culture],” said Kris Grajny, a postbaccalaureate premedical student. “Of course, the prices are absolutely outrageous,” Grajny added.

Damali Slowe, CC ’10, said she used the CU Bookstore so she could “spend flex instead of spending on a credit card.”

While the CU Bookstore can be a fast way to get exact editions that professors require, Patterson shed light on the unique relationship that Book Culture has forged with certain departments and teachers at Columbia. “We pride ourselves on our very academic collection. Some professors have been very loyal to us, ordered from us for years.”

Meanwhile, Morningside Books keeps textbooks off its shelves. “I’ve avoided the whole textbook thing. It’s expensive. It’s not the industry I want to target,” Soter explained.

Barnard urban studies professor Delia C. Mellis did not require students to buy any books this semester. “Like my students, my work revolves around reading books, and books are expensive,” she said in e-mail.
However, Mellis added, “We don’t ask you to read books that we don’t think will serve you in some way. It’s not inherently unfeeling or unsympathetic if a professor thinks that books are worth certain sacrifices.”

Instead of heading to the store for her required reading, Leila Norman, CC ’12 said, “I had my mom ship them from home. It is easier to get cheaper books in Georgia and then send them here.”

“All the books I bought from Amazon.com were less than seven dollars,” Damali Slowe, CC ’10 said, explaining her complex scheme for a lighter bill. “I photocopied the others from reserves, and if it was too big to photocopy, I bought it from the Bookstore. But I always ask whether we need it in class, because otherwise I wouldn’t bother buying it at all.”
Other students avoid buying class texts altogether. According to Andy Moore, a staff member of Butler reserves, students have been frequenting library resources. “We are a busy desk,” he said.