Back-to-School tips from a Bookstore Employee

I have been working at my school's bookstore for 4 years. In that time I have become known as the "Textpert" because I have become very familiar with the textbook section of the store, the quirks of certain textbooks, and the easy mistakes students shopping make. Rush season is stressful for everyone, and I am hoping by sharing these thoughts I might make it less stressful for students and employees alike. (Please know that I am writing these tips from my perspective as a student and an employee, not as a part of my job.)

1. Remember most of the employees at your store are probably students too.

We are also getting ready for school to start, moving in, and working more hours that we will likely get for the rest of the year. We know that class starts tomorrow. Believe us, we know.

2. Professors don't always meet deadlines.

If your class doesn't have a place for a book and you know your class should have a book, the most likely reason is that your professor never got around to telling the bookstore that you need books. If the professor ordered it recently there might be a spot for it, but no books. I have had a professor order books the week before class started, and books tend to take time to get to the store. And then there are publishers who lose our orders or send us the wrong book and these problems need to be fixed. Some professors have legitimate reasons for ordering late, new texts sometimes get released over the summer, professors and lecturers get added to classes late, but the bookstore needs time to order books and fix any problems that come up.

3. If you can't get your book, DO NOT PANIC

If we don't have it, you are probably not the only person without it, and we have informed the professor. You will be ok, I promise. (Sidenote: You probably don't need your book in, say, June, and we may not have ordered books in June.) (Further sidenote: my store doesn't really have a way to tag things as prior reading which WOULD BE AWESOME FOR SO MANY REASONS but alas.)

4. Don't treat us as if we are here to take all your money.

The professors choose the books, the publishers set the prices, we have to make a profit. That's just how businesses operate. Again, most of us are students, and painfully aware of how ridiculously expensive books are, you do not need to tell us. Selling books back will not get you as much money as you spent because we need to make a profit. (Sidenote: Amazon undercuts publishers to get their low prices, which is unethical. I know we are all starving students and saved money is saved money, but if you can afford it, try to buy from somewhere other than Amazon.) (Sidenote 2: if you want to compare prices, check our website rather than coming in. If our prices change it will be updated online immediately, so that's the best way to get the current price.) 

5. You cannot purchase a used access code

An access code is just a piece of paper with letters and numbers on it that allow you to set up an account with whatever online program your professor is using. These codes can only be used once. Therefore, a used access code is just a piece of paper with gibberish on it, and you don't want it anyway. Yes they are ridiculously expensive, but the prices are set by the publisher, not me. (At my store, and likely at others, certain packages with the book and access code are close to or less than the price of an access code! if you don't have the book from somewhere else, that's a big save. Unfortunately though, you can't rent these packages because a used access code is useless. Some book-specific access codes have built in e-books but my experience has been that they are hard to use and sometimes don't have appendices that you might need for class.)

6. You don't need to buy everything listed under your class

When we process online orders, we often cancel redundant selections. Often people order the book, the access code, and the package with the book and the access code. You do not need two of everything, and those tend to be the expensive books. There also may be books marked "Recommended" and "Go To Class First." The use of "Recommended" varies, sometimes it's supplemental reading, sometimes it's an option. "Go To Class First" usually means your professor wants to explain something about it before you buy it. If you prefer to buy your books before you go to class, I would recommend waiting on these, unless you know more, (if you've gotten a copy of the syllabus and it explains it, for example) because it's less of a hassle for everybody if you just stop in later and grab it, or order it online for pickup (my store just pulls orders off the shelf, so if you order it for pickup it's almost more like reserve)

7. Understand Online Orders

Ordering online is awesome! If I could get my discount that way, I would order my books online. Also it's a lot easier for everyone if you order ebooks online, at least on the system we use. Here's some pointers on ordering online:

• At my store, orders are pulled from the shelves in the order they are received. If we run out of the book you ordered, we will backorder that book for you. Backorder means that as soon as the book comes in, we will fill that book for you. 
• At my store, and as far as I know, most stores, your card is not charged until the book is processed to your order. Keep this in mind when you order, so that you have enough money on that card until we process the order (my store waits until the month before school starts at most, so if you order at the beginning of the summer you will get your order filled first, but you need to make sure you still have enough money. You might be able to ask your bookstore for a ballpark estimate of when they start filling orders if you are concerned.)
• The reason you are not charged until the order is filled is that we may not have books in the condition you asked for, but we want to make sure you get your book. If you order a used book, but by the time we process your order we only have new copies left, we will give you a new book, at the new price. If you really really wanted a used copy, you can return it, but we would rather people return books than not have books. Our online store will give you the "worst case scenario" price when you checkout, but I'm not sure about other stores. Some stores have a box to mark whether you would prefer to have books replaced with copies in different conditions, however in my experience, people ordering do not understand that this may leave them without a book.

8. If you are waiting to buy books, know how long you can wait

I know that people like to wait until the book actually is being used in class until they buy the book, but sometimes you can't wait very long. Some stores return all of their books halfway through the semester, others wait until the term is mostly over. If you are planning to be buying books through the semester (I have mostly seen this in English classes) make sure you have them before they are returned. My store makes sure to email professors before we do returns. Also make sure you know how late you can return books. most stores will do as much as they can to make sure you know your return deadline.

I hope that helps! Please be nice to us, and good luck this semester/quarter!

I really need to talk about the rape scene in Blade Runner

My Physics in Science Fiction class recently watched Blade Runner and we're talking about the ethics of creating replicants and whether they are mistreated in the movie (yes) and so I really need to talk about the rape scene.

ya know, the part where Deckard leans in to kiss Rachael, she tries to leave, he stops her from leaving. and then *implied sex rape* happens. When Rachael is trying to leave it is clear she does not feel comfortable with the way things are going, and in not letting her leave Deckard is taking away her ability to refuse. The "kiss me. I want you." seems to be an attempt by the writers to make it romantic, but in the context of him keeping her from leaving it comes off as coercion.

"But Rachael is a replicant, not human so it's not rape!" 

No. Stop. First of all, the movie makes it clear that there is not much between humans and replicants that the humans did not intentionally put there. Replicants are living biological creations based primarily on human DNA, and given the same if not superior reasoning and sensory capabilities as humans. They are acknowledged to develop emotions of their own, and their ability to stage revolts indicates a sense of autonomy that robots or drones would not have. We are also introduced to the history of replicants with discussion of their use as "slave labor." The difference between slaves and tools is that slaves are feeling humans denied rights. The introduction text argues for the humanity of replicants.

However, let's pretend for a moment that replicants are not living things but machinery. In that case, replicants cannot consent, because machines cannot give or take consent. Also, if we choose to look at it from the viewpoint that Rachael is property of Tyrell Corporation (I shudder), Deckard is mistreating property (ugh, I hate this sentence). Even if replicants do not have rights, this is an uncomfortable scene.

"But Deckard may or may not be a replicant himself!"

Well then, if we're sticking to this hypothetical viewpoint that replicants are property and not responsible for their behavior, then the blame for the crime is just redirected to whoever owns Deckard. Still rape. And of course, if we return to my belief that replicants have human capabilities and therefore human responsibilities, it was still definitely rape.

it's worrisome because the people working on this movie thought this scene was compatible with a romance subplot. Maybe replicants can get over it, maybe they can regain trust and start a romantic relationship with someone who has violated them, although the behavior of other replicants in the movie do not seem to indicate this.