While students fight to find the best deal on required reading, another battle over textbooks is being waged behind the scenes. Every year several campus-area bookstores struggle to find an edge over their competition.
Independent bookstores like Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative, 426 W. Gilman St., Canterbury Booksellers, 315 W. Gorham St., and A Room of One's Own, 307 W. Johnson St., are able to coexist with larger competitors because professors give course reading lists strictly to their stores.
This has brought some complaints of favoritism, but Rainbow textbook coordinator Allen Ruff said it is necessary to keep the marketplace diverse and strong.
\If everyone orders the same books, everyone gets hurt. It would create a monopoly where only the largest would survive,"" he said.
Troy Gerkey, co-owner of Underground Textbook Exchange, 664 State St., said he has mixed feelings about an open book list.
""We benefit from it in a lot of ways because of professors ordering exclusively from our store, but it'd be nice if each department was responsible for collecting the book information and making it available,"" he said.
However, University Bookstore Vice President Pat McGowan said though the majority of professors give course book information directly to his store, it does not unfairly benefit from the system.
""We put our information up on the shelves for all to see. Our competitors can come and obtain it whenever they want,"" he said.
According to John Lucas of University Communications, there is no official university policy regarding book list access.
""Because of late changes [to courses] it would be logistically impossible to have a central list from the university to all bookstores,"" he said.
Though University Bookstore, 711 State St., is the main resource for books, recently Underground tried to break its control of the market.
Gerkey said UBS was unfairly granted access to incoming freshmen when they arrived on campus for Student Orientation Advising and Registration. Students were given bags from the UBS. It was also allowed to set up a table providing information on the store during SOAR at Union South. Gerkey's complaints resulted in Underground also being granted a table.
He was also told by administration that a decision will be made for next year whether to involve both bookstores or not allow either to participate.
