Students and faculty experienced frustrations at the beginning of the Spring semester stemming from the delay in shipments of textbooks to the Bakersfield College Bookstore.
Bill Norris, manager of the bookstore, attributes the problems with receiving the correct books on time to a “tight schedule.”
Adding to the initial holdup in shipments was the sudden onset of heavy snowfall on the east coast where most of the publishers of the required textbooks are located.
Norris explained that there are actually only a few titles not in stock and that he reordered shipments every time a problem arose, using overnight shipping to get the books in as soon as possible.
Laura Lorigo, auxiliary services manager and budget analyst for BC, sent an e-mail to instructors addressing the problems many were experiencing in ordering and receiving the correct textbooks.
Lorigo assures staff that while the full explanation behind the delay is not clear, all steps were being taken to remedy the situation as soon as possible.
After unsuccessfully finding the necessary textbooks at the campus bookstores, some students have resorted to finding the books elsewhere.
“I went to get my philosophy books and they didn’t have any of them. I went and found them at Barnes and Noble,” said sophomore Benjamin Servin.
Other students were unaffected by the delay.
Freshman Patricia Rocha said she had experienced no problems getting the books she needed.?
“It was packed and I had to wait in line for a while, but they had all the books I needed. It’s almost impossible to find something that fits my budget, though,” said Rocha.
While the delay made for a rough start this semester for some, Norris said all of the books are in and there are no more problems, “only success stories.”