Selecting materials for your students can be one of the most difficult challenges when planning a class. Stephens Bookshelf is here to help you by providing resources and being available to answer your questions. We have tried to present a wide range of information here to help you as you make your decisions. Learn more about textbook pricing and how to make life easier for yourself and your students. Please contact us anytime with questions or comments.

Together, we can help our students save money on textbooks.

With the cost of higher education continuing to rise, students and their parents need to find ways to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. One of the easiest solutions to this problem exists in the area of textbook purchasing and buyback. Faculty members play a crucial role in keeping down the costs that students incur.

Help students reduce their out-of-pocket expenses.

Get textbook adoption orders in on time. This helps the bookstore better plan our buyback quantities, saves freight cost and allows for other efficiencies, all of which ultimately return more money to our students. In addition, this helps us ensure we have sufficient quantities of books available and gives us time to search for as many used textbooks as possible, saving students 25% over the cost of new books.

Consider reusing the same edition if the new edition contains only minimal content changes. If previous editions are still usable, they can be purchased as used texts, which saves students 25%. According to a recent national survey (PDF), 40% of faculty report that new editions are rarely to never justified. In addition, the average time between editions is now only 3.8 years.

Avoid requiring textbooks when only one or a few chapters are needed. Consider using our Custom Publishing options. We will secure all the copyright permissions necessary, and provide the required materials often at a fraction of the cost of the entire book.

Course Material Information

• When should I submit my textbook order?
• Why do I need to submit my textbook adoption so early?
• What if I have to submit an order after the deadlines?
• What information do I need to include when I order books for my courses?
• What is Custom Publishing, and how does it work?
• What if I require non-text items for my class, such as supplies or software?

When should I submit my textbook order?
We know that you spend a great deal of time selecting the right course materials. Our due dates ensure that your students get the right material in the appropriate quantities at the best possible price. Due dates are listed on the faculty textbook order form.

Why do I need to submit my textbook adoption so early?
On-time textbook adoptions have several advantages for you and your students:

1. Eliminate problems ahead of time by verifying the availability of the book(s), and determing if a new edition has been released.
2. If a book is out of print or out of stock, we have a longer period of time to secure used copies of the book or you have time to select a replacement title.
3. On-time adoptions of out-of-print books may also be custom published
4. Identifies publishers such as overseas presses that have unique situations that require additional time to receive.
5. Provides students with a greater selection of used books which save students 25% off the publisher's new price.
6. Often increase the amount of money students receive in buyback at the end of the term if the same books are used again.
7. To prepare for the coming semester, Stephens Bookshelf must return any unsold books to the publisher that are not being reused. If we know a book is being reused, we can reduce the costs associated with returning and then reordering books. This means more dollars returned to campus.
8. Packaged or bundled books can take up to eight weeks longer than a traditional book to arrive.

What if I have to submit an order after the deadlines?
We will always do our best to accommodate late orders for textbooks and Custom Publishing, and we will still do everything we can to have the books in the store ready for students before classes begin.

What information do I need to include when I order books for my courses?
When submitting your textbook order, the information listed below would be of tremendous help to ensure that the correct book(s) are ordered for your class.

1. Department
2. Course #
3. Instructor Name, phone number and email address
4. Semester the order is for (if the start date for the class is later than the main semester start date, please note the course start date on the order.)
5. Author and Title (if the book is a package, please include information about the components, and if those components are required or recommended.)
6. ISBN number
7. Indicate whether the book is Required or Recommended.
8. Estimated Enrollment (enrollment cap) for the course.

What is Custom Publishing and how does it work?
Stephens Bookshelf provides a Custom Publishing service for instructors to have selected non-copyrighted material or copyrighted material compiled into a packet to supplement the textbook or to use as a stand-alone textbook. Securing the reproduction rights can take any where from 4-6 weeks.

What if I require non-text items such as supplies or software?
Simply include the information with your order. The easiest method may be to attach a copy of your syllabus so we have the same information your students will receive. We can provide just about any item for your students' convenience.