 "Photo: Lorraine Lampe")
Along with visiting friends in different houses, dorms or apartments and re-examining schedules that were made in the spring, the one item lingering at the top of everyone's to-do list is to purchase textbooks.
There seems to be no way around paying exorbitant prices for textbooks, especially if all five classes you are taking involve 800-page books ... or is there?
Today there are numerous places where students can buy books.
Thanks to Web sites such as Biblio.com and Amazon.com, students can find almost any textbook in print.
Cheap textbooks are on these Web sites and ready to be shipped as soon as one clicks "buy," making some wonder if it could possibly be any easier.
In today's Web-based world, it seems logical to assume that students are buying books online and saying no to the high prices set by the bookstore.
The consensus on seems to be in favor of buying books online through a bargain Web site.
"I bought all my books off Amazon.com and for really low prices too. I think most students do; it's easy and saves a lot of money," said Ariana Michaloutsos '10.
According to Barbara Farrell, the manager of the campus bookstore, it appears that there was no decrease in textbook sales from this year or in past years. She said she has not noticed any immediate negative effects.
Though prices can be considerably better through sites like Amazon.com, students continue to buy from the bookstore.
As Michelle Slatalla says in her New York Times article "Knowledge is Priceless but Textbooks are Not," "There is no single site where you can always get the best deal."
Searching online for the best price amongst many sites is labor intensive.
It can be frustrating when the site has a great price but the book is not the exact edition or does not come with a CD that you need.
This is one main reason students stick with their school bookstore.
Many students are also deterred from buying textbooks online because of shipping worries. Books sometimes turn up late or not at all and may not be in the condition they are expected. Shipping fees may also make up for the money students are saving by shopping online.
Buying through the bookstore is easy, fast and, as Farrell points out, safe.
If a professor decides to switch texts or not use some at all, books purchased online are very difficult, if not impossible to return.
At the campus bookstore, the item is fully refunded or switched for the new text.
"We try very hard to find as many used copies of books as possible," said Farrell.
Used books, sold at discounted prices, are a positive alternative to buying a new copy and often cost the same as its supposedly cheaper twin found online.
Although many students find it easier to purchase books on the Web, Farrell said that the bookstore always has a steady stream of customers throughout the week.
In years to come, more Web sites featuring textbook bargains will increase in number.
But for now, a large number of Fairfield students are staying loyal to their school bookstore.
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