Textbook Orders

1. General

The Bookstore is responsible for establishing guidelines in order to meet the needs of students for textbooks in a timely fashion.

All textbooks required for courses must be sold through the bookstore. Teachers who wish to have their students purchase new textbooks directly from external suppliers must receive the authorization of the Bookstore manager or delegate. The sale of course materials to students in the classroom by a teacher or his/her delegate is prohibited.

To ensure course materials are available for students at the start of classes, teachers should:

1. place required textbook orders by the established order deadlines;
2. fill out the appropriate textbook requisition form;
3. communicate with the textbook order persons any special arrangements made between themselves and the sales representative and/or the publisher.

2. Deadlines

The Bookstore, in consultation with the Bookstore Advisory Committee, will establish the deadlines for ordering textbooks taking into account the following:

1. the date of notification to teachers of the courses to be taught for the following semester;
2. the availability of Bookstore staff to carry out the operation;
3. the most appropriate dates to order textbooks from publishers/wholesalers.

Meeting the established deadlines is highly encouraged as it will increase the likelihood of the textbook being available for the start of classes, reduce operational expenses, and allow the Bookstore staff time to resolve any problems that may occur.

Requisitions received after December 1st for the Winter semester and after June 1st for the Fall semester are considered late orders.

Any changes made to a requisition will only be accepted with the approval of the departmental chairperson. If additional expenses are incurred due to the change, arrangements will be discussed at that time.

3. Textbook Requisition

Every semester, the Bookstore will circulate to departmental chairpersons a list of instructions for ordering textbooks and attach copies of the textbook requisition form. In the instance where the selection of books to be used by students is made by the department, the chairperson or delegate shall complete and remit the form within the set deadline. In the instance where individual teachers are responsible for the selection, the chairperson will make available the instructions to these teachers who must complete and remit the form themselves within the set deadline.

Newly hired teachers should submit the textbook requisition form within a week of the notification of the courses to be taught. For teachers to be hired after July 1st for the Fall semester and December 1st for the Winter semester, the chairperson shall make the selection of the required books, complete the textbook requisition form, and communicate this information to the newly hired teacher.

No teachers, particularly newly hired teachers, should assume that the books available in the Bookstore have been ordered specifically for their students unless they (or the department) have completed the textbook requisition form for the semester in question.

The Bookstore orders quantities of texts based on the information indicated on the textbook requisition form. When additional sections of courses open during registration, the chairperson or delegate shall communicate this information to the Bookstore as soon as possible.

4. Textbook Purchase

The Bookstore is responsible for ordering a sufficient quantity of books to meet the needs of Dawson students based on information gathered by the submission of textbook requisition forms. The Bookstore staff shall determine the order quantities based on their expertise, sales history of the book, sales history of the course, the used book market and other factors.

The adjustment of the teacher’s order quantity on the requisitions is a necessary procedure to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency. In situations where order quantities are adjusted resulting in less than 90% of the expected number of texts, the Bookstore shall inform the teacher in writing indicating the reason.

Teachers are expected to use all titles ordered for their courses. Students are expected to purchase their textbooks at the start of classes. After eight weeks from the start of classes, the Bookstore shall return unsold books to the wholesalers/publishers. Discretion shall be used in the number of texts to be returned.