BOOKSTORE TOWN HALL SHARES THE LATEST ON AFFORDABLE OPTIONS

In an ever-changing industry, the UH Bookstore has worked hard to keep up and bring students more affordable textbook options. At the Bookstore Advisory Town Hall on Wednesday, April 6, the UH community was invited to hear about the latest technology and trends in textbooks.

�The overall focus of the meeting was to get the word out to the campus community of the many textbook options and services available through their campus bookstore,� said Felix Robinson, general manager of the UH Bookstores. �We really hope that students and faculty take advantage of the many choices, and be fully aware of what is available in the textbook industry.�

First up at the Town Hall was Chrisitie Peters, UH Librarian and vice chairperson of the Bookstore Advisory Committee. Barnes and Noble has come out with an eReader specially suited for textbooks. Peters gave a tutorial on NOOKstudy, the eTextbook reader from Barnes and Noble. This free software application allows students to manage their books, notes, syllabus and other materials into courses on their computer. Also, while reading through the textbook, students can highlight, make notes, add tags or web links and even look up topics online, all using the NOOKstudy software. Students who prefer to do their studying digitally now have an easy study tool available for some of their required course textbooks.

Along with the new software, the UH Bookstore has also brought students more options in order to keep textbooks affordable. In the past, a campus bookstore was limited to only providing used textbooks as the most affordable option. However, now the UH Bookstore provides course materials when available as new, used, digital or rental. Robinson described the savings students receive with each choice. Robinson also discussed the Cash for Books program. The earlier the bookstore knows which titles will be reused the following semester, the more books they can buy back from students and save them money.

The Town Hall ended with a brief overview of committee activities over the past academic year by Reyes Ramirez, Bookstore Advisory Committee chairperson. The committee has focused on bringing students what they need and keeping the lines of communication open. They also work to continually educate the UH faculty about the Higher Education Opportunity Act which now requires professors to have their textbooks adopted by a certain deadline prior to the start of the semester. The committee revamped the Barnes and Noble Textbook Scholarship offered by the university to ensure the funds will remain available for future Cougars.

For more information on the Bookstore Advisory Committee, visit https://www.uh.edu/af/bookstoreadvis.htm.