Blog

Barnes & Noble at RIT is required by law to make changes to its website to display International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) by July 1st—50 days from now.

In August of 2008, the “Higher Education Opportunity Act” (HEOA) [PDF] was passed and became public law. Section 133 of the act requires institutions to provide specific information about textbooks for its courses—in online or printed form.

The law was passed back in August of 2008, and congress hopes colleges will make the changes before then, but it appears Barnes & Noble will wait until the last minute.

With the large number of textbooks and different editions, Barnes & Noble’s lack of properly displaying full book titles and author names makes it a bit harder for students to find the book through alternative sellers.

BookMaid contacted Barnes & Noble over a year ago, and they had no intention to publish ISBNs until they were “legally obligated to.” Since then, it was learned that Barnes & Noble is required to. Last August, Barnes & Noble’s manager said the changes were under way.

As we all know, RIT does not display International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) on the Barnes & Noble website (the only way to find textbooks for classes). Since many books have different editions, and similar titles, not knowing the ISBN makes it more difficult to find textbooks elsewhere. After inquiring and receiving a unfulfilled answer from RIT’s Barnes & Noble’s Manager:

“It is Barnes and Noble College Booksellers policy not to post ISBNs on our websites unless we are contractually or legally obligated to.”

Well, it turns out that RIT is actually legally obligated to.

As of August 14, 2008, a textbook provision of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (pdf) states that all institutions of higher learning are required to display ISBN and retail price for required textbooks.

This provision does not take effect until July 1, 2010, however Congress has stated that they hope universities will begin to implement these changes before the deadline to end what they feel are “abuses in the process.”

RIT has still not yet implemented these changes, however, the manager of the RIT bookstore states that these changes are underway, but they will not be completed until sometime next year. (Right before the deadline - go RIT!)

Thanks to Matt Danna, RIT’s Student Government President for helping this along.

The bookstore opened 10 months ago and may now be closing. Photo via The Eggplant

RIT’s bookstore announced today that they are seeking a financial bailout. Sales reached an all time low this quarter and are predicted to be even lower next year. BookMaid.com will become official named RIT’s bookstore if the bookstore reaches bankruptcy.

The bookstore asked for a financial bailout 2 weeks ago, which was denied by RIT’s President Destler. He warned the bookstore that they can’t depend on an “unending” stream of students’ tuition dollars. Destler threatens that if the bookstore does not restructure, they maybe forced to file bankruptcy.

“We cannot, we must not, and we will not let our books simply vanish,” says Destler, stressing the importance of a textbook resource. He has pre-approved BookMaid.com as the bookstore’s replacement if it does not meet the President’s requirements.

“Everyone’s in an economic situation,” says a bookstore representative, “and RIT students aren’t willing to give us their money.” He claims that the students are being too cautious about their spendings. “We have a commitment to rip students off, and we’re having trouble meeting that commitment.” He also explained that Winter Quarter’s book sales were alarmingly low. BookMaid.com on the other hand, has been spiking with sales.

The RIT community has been hoping for the fall of the bookstore. Lauren Parsons, an RIT economics professor and Stanford graduate is certain that the bookstore is nearing it’s final days. “The RIT bookstore won’t be able to survive another quarter” she explains, “The prices are ridiculous.” She has directed all her students to use BookMaid.com to purchase the textbooks for her courses.

“I’ve bought many books on BookMaid” says Kelly Jefferson, a cashier at the bookstore, “We run out of books sometimes - and it’s the only place we can go to restock quickly.”

Students are anxious to hear the results of this economical situation. “This quarter I paid $634 for four books.” says Jason Miller, a third year mechanical engineering student, “And one of them couldn’t have been thicker than a magazine! Six hundred dollars for four books!? For realz?!”

Happy April 1st Everyone!

Tweet this article! | Digg it!

As all of us know, RIT’s Barnes & Noble store does not publish ISBN numbers. This way, it makes it harder for RIT students to find books from other sources. Titles and authors listed on the site are often abbreviated, so searching on other sites may provide inaccurate results.

Barnes & Noble’s Response

BookMaid emailed RIT Barnes & Noble’s Manager, Peter Briggs, and they explained their rationale:

“It is Barnes and Noble College Booksellers policy not to post ISBNs on our websites unless we are contractually or legally obligated to.”

He stated that there were consistency problems with ISBN numbers, and that they felt that the title, author, and edition were enough information.

If you disagree, contact Peter at pwbbkt@rit.edu.

He also stated that students may call to ask for ISBN numbers. (Phone: 585-475-2501 or email form). BookMaid encourages students to call and ask for ISBN numbers.

How to find your RIT required textbook list

1. Login to Student Information System (SIS)
2. Choose Academic Information and then Class Schedule
3. Select the term and click Submit
4. Click By My Books Now
5. Copy the titles of your book and search for the textbooks on BookMaid

BookMaid is looking into automating the process to search for your required books easier.