Seattle Central Bookstore Advisory Committee Minutes

SEATTLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOOKSTORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES
December 3, 2008, 3pm
Attended by: Patti Conley, Al Hikida, Susan Tsoglin, Linda Cornutt, Jeff Keever, Anh Tran, Patti Thompson, Kim Lawler, David Totten, Carl Waluconis, Michael Taylor

Introductions
Patti Thompson, Bookstore Manager, gave a brief introduction and outlined the purpose and mission of the group.
Mission Statement: The purpose of the Bookstore Advisory Committee is to strengthen the partnership between the bookstore and the campus community and to create an open forum for ideas and issues with regards to the bookstore and the role it plays on campus. The committee meets once per quarter to review ways to improve customer service to the campus community; to discuss any concerns that students, staff, or faculty have about the operation; and to propose ways to improve communication between the bookstore and faculty with regards to book orders. One of the main objectives is to determine how we can lower the cost of textbooks for our students. The committee is comprised of students, faculty and staff chosen to attempt to reach areas where there have been concerns and where there is potential collaboration and growth.

Patti also explained and summarized the partnership the District has with Barnes and Noble booksellers. This partnership yields the District between 6-7% of store net sales per year, and also helps the District with some infrastructure (POS systems) as well as regional management marketing and merchandising support. She stressed that one of the main goals of the bookstore is to get as many used books as possible and to buy back as many used books from the students as possible, and that this is only possible WITH collaboration from the various instructional units and faculty.

Jeff Keever, director of Auxiliary Services, explained his role as intermediary between Barnes and Noble and the College. He also announced some promotions in the works for the Bookstore, as well as his intention to begin a “Bookstore Advisory Committee Blog”.

Anh Tran, Textbook Buyer, explained the entire process of the textbook cycle, including:
· Pricing on textbooks and how adoption forms from instructors impact book buying.
· The difference in pricing on buy back vs. wholesale
· Other sources of used books, and the pros and cons to students who utilize these options
· Pros and cons of access codes, packages, and bundling of products.
· Edition changes and price increases from publishers
· How to reach out to students about purchasing books at the Bookstore and how to promote buy back.

There was then a discussion about the ways all can help to save students money on textbooks, and what each member could do, or was already doing, to get books to students when they need them and at prices that fit a student’s budget (early and timely ordering, utilizing the same textbook quarter to quarter, paring down the number of textbook options for faculty to choose from for different sections of the same course).