ABIGAIL JACOBSON
Special to The Leader
While many students’ backpacks are currently filled with textbooks, next year, students will be able to take some of the weight off of their shoulders.
Some rumors are swirling about the campus bookstore not supplying textbooks in the next academic year. However, Darin Schulz, executive director of the Faculty Student Association (FSA), is putting these rumors to rest.
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In Fall 2023, Schulz said that the bookstore on campus will continue to offer textbooks, but will be changing its book provider. Instead of being a self-operated bookstore, FSA has enlisted the help of Akademos, a full-service online book provider.
Akademos is a company that provides students and colleges around the world with savings on textbooks, while leaving full control to administrators and faculty. Akademos gives administrators the ability to buy only as many textbooks as they need, preventing unpurchased books from stocking up on shelves.
Other colleges such as the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, N.Y., have switched to using Akademos after negotiations with other book providers and retailers fell through.
RIT built a $12 million Barnes & Noble bookstore on campus, but then walked away from the deal. In response to this, they switched to Akademos. Akademos also provides books for Brooklyn Law School, Houghton College, as well as many other educational institutions.
“[Losing Barnes & Noble] made things a little harder honestly because before you could go get some of your books right at the store, but now you have to order them all online,” said Abigail Starkweather, a sophomore at RIT.
Schulz expressed his opinions on the change.
“By going to a virtual bookstore, the only downside for the student is that you have to wait two days to get your books … but the positives are better pricing and overall more options,” Schulz said.
One student, who has chosen to remain anonymous, believes this change is for the better.
“I think this is a good step for Fredonia,” the student said. “If it provides better pricing with only having to wait a few days, that is fine with me.”
Schulz said that physical textbooks will still be available through Fredonia’s online bookstore portal, just not in store. Using your e-services ID, you will be able to buy books for a low price. There are many options to choose from such as buy new, buy used, rent new, rent used and buy e-textbooks. FredFunds will still be an option for paying for your textbooks, as well as financial aid, credit cards and book scholarships.
However, Textbook Pre-Packs, where students could buy their textbooks and pick them up at the bookstore, will be going away in the fall. Schulz said that Textbook Pre-Pack numbers have decreased over the past few years because not enough physical books are being sold, which is why SUNY Fredonia is switching to Akademos.
“The bookstore itself will still be the same, except there won’t be books on the shelves, unless they are locally sourced books,” Schulz said.
The bookstore will continue to provide school supplies such as pens, pencils, art supplies as well as music supplies. The store will also still carry Fredonia merchandise.
“We have been talking about doing this for five years now. Now, the time is right,” Schulz said. “… The bookstore market has declined, especially on college campuses. Many are switching to online bookstores, which are more efficient. We think it is going to be better overall, so we are excited.”