To order textbooks for classes, faculty members submit Text Information Requests through their departments or colleges. A faculty member is entitled to a complimentary desk copy from the publisher of each text he or she orders for a class, and forms for requesting desk copies are available in the Bookstore. Interim desk copies are available from the Bookstore until the publisher’s complimentary copy arrives. Since publishers often mark desk copies in a manner that renders them non-returnable, books that are obtained from the Bookstore must be kept clean so that these may be returned to the publishers. If the desk copy is not returned to the Bookstore or replaced within 60 days from the date of issue, the department of the faculty member is required to pay for the desk copy.
Unsold copies of textbooks cause a financial drain on the Bookstore in several ways, so faculty members are asked to use good judgment in placing orders.
If a faculty member or department chooses to print materials to be used in a course and sell those materials to the students, the Bookstore will arrange to have the materials printed on campus, will set a price (including an author’s royalty) for those materials, and will sell them to the students. This arrangement pertains to campus-authored materials; that is, materials authored by a faculty member and not published elsewhere. In specific circumstances where the faculty member has obtained appropriate permission from the publisher (for example, to reprint material from a book that is out of stock), the Bookstore will make arrangements for printing.