Saint Francis University

Bookstore Faculty Information

Welcome to the Bookstore
We offer a wide range of products and services specifically for your convenience.   These include customized course pack compilations, academically priced software, and free special orders.  Details about these services and our other activities follow.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the bookstore manager.

Course Book Adoption Information

• Using the Adoption Form
  The Adoption Form is very self explanatory and quite easy to complete. Simply follow the instructions listed on the upper right hand side of the form. If a textbook is listed and you wish to re-adopt the book then place an R (Required) or an O (Optional) in the space provided to the right of the book’s title. Please pay particular attention to the edition and copyright year that they are what you requested. It is very possible that the book you have in your possession is a newer edition than the one listed on the form. If you do not wish to re-adopt the same book then place a D (Discontinued) in the right hand space. For new textbook adoptions please enter as much of the information you can; this will help us to avoid confusion later on when we order the textbook. When you have entered all the information on the form you may simply fax it to us at (814) 472-3045 or send the form to the bookstore.

• Textbook Adoption Deadlines

  • Fall Semester - April 15

  • Spring Semester - November 15

  • Summer Semester - March 25

• Professors frequently ask why must we submit our requests so early?
  Because a timely adoption order will ensure that the textbook is available for your course, our students will have access to less expensive used textbooks, and they can receive the maximum value for their textbooks at Buyback.

• Availability
  Our goal is to ensure that textbooks are on the shelves on time and in the right quantities. The earlier we can order, the more likely we are to avoid out-of -stock titles, delivery problems and other delays. Advance notice is especially important for foreign titles and obscure publisher titles, which take longer to procure.

• Textbook Returns
  The bookstore begins to return unsold textbooks to their respective publishers a few weeks prior to Finals Week. Some textbooks are held on our shelves for which we have received an order for or if the course is continuing into another semester. Frequently a textbook has been returned to the publisher and several days later a late order arrives re-adopting the same book which must be re-ordered from the publisher.  The bookstore informs faculty and students each semester when the textbook returning process will begin via the University's web page, bulletin announcements and email messages.

• Buyback Program
  The bookstore provides used textbooks as a service to our students. The opportunity to sell back their unwanted textbooks at the end of the semester helps students reduce their expenses, and offers a less expensive alternative to the student shopping for the same textbook. During Finals Week we conduct a Buyback program. The bookstore purchases any textbooks that we have an adoption for at 50% of the book’s retail price. If we do not have an adoption for a particular book presented at Buyback it will be purchased by the used book wholesaler at a much lower price.

• Textbook  Ordering Methods
  There are several methods that you may choose to submit your textbook information to the bookstore. You may submit the information either by email, on line or send the completed Adoption Form to the bookstore. In the event you did not receive an Adoption Form, please contact the bookstore and we’ll be happy to furnish them to you. As a matter of policy, we do not wish to take adoption information over the telephone, but we recognize that some circumstances arise that do not allow time for normal channels to be followed. In those particular situations, telephone orders are acceptable; however, we do request your cooperation in submitting a written order confirmation.

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Online Adoptions

New faculty members who would like to place their orders online, please refer to the new user instructions below.  For faculty who  have previously used our online adoption service, please refer to the returning user instructions as the web site pages have been changed. 

We advise all faculty members to review our Course Booklist anytime before classes begin to insure that the books listed are those you intended to adopt for your class.

If you are having any difficulty in completing your eDoptions please call us at 814-472-3170 or 3171 or email us at Bshingle@francis.edu or Dcox@francis.edu. Office hours are 9:00 - 4:30pm Monday - Friday.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE:  WHEN USING AN SFU EMAIL ADDRESS TO PLACE ONLINE TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT bookstore@francis.edu IF YOU FORGET YOUR PASSWORD. 
A TEMPORARY PASSWORD WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU. 

PLACE ADOPTION ATeDOPTIONS

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About Textbooks...

• Book Orders: Why They Are Needed Months In Advance
  Our goal is to make sure that textbooks are on the shelves on time and in the right quantities.   To achieve that goal we undertake a time-consuming research and procurement process.  The earlier we have complete information in hand, the better are our chances for success.
  
  We always provide a mix of both new and used books, new for students who prefer pristine texts and used for more budget-conscious students.  When you request a book for your course, store personnel go to several sources of supply to find copies of the title.  (We do this for each title you request and for hundreds of other requested titles.)  The bookstore checks with publishers and distributors to obtain new books and buys used copies from students and used book wholesalers.
  
  We provide used books as a service for budget conscious students.  The opportunity to sell back textbooks they do not want to hold for future reference helps them financially, as does access to used texts.  This student buyback process requires a great deal of advance preparation by the bookstore.
  
  The new editions of standard texts and new titles that you request are sourced directly from publishers.  Since publishers do not keep large inventories, titles can be out of stock–and it may be a while before they are reprinted.  An adequate lead time increases the chances that out of stock titles, delivery problems and other delays will not prevent us from having your books on the shelves right when classes begin.  Advance notice is especially important for foreign books, which frequently take longer to arrive.
  

• To Speed Up The Process
  We are happy to accept your book requests piecemeal.  If you are not sure of all the books you will need for a course, submit the titles that you do know.  Just note on the request form that more titles may be requested later and send in another list as soon as you have made your decisions.  It is very important, however, that you do not include titles that you may not end up using for the course.
  
  Also, please let us know if your class size changes or if the department adds sections.  If we are not aware that you have moved to a larger classroom or that the registrar will be admitting more students than initially indicated, we may run out of books and have to reorder.
  

• How We Determine the Quantity of Textbooks to Order
  We strive to have, at minimum, enough books for everyone who wants one, at Rush.  To achieve this goal, we carefully review all the information we have available to us.  This includes the quantity you want, the sales history of both the book and the course, and pre-enrollment figures.  We do not adjust the quantity you request arbitrarily.  Our thorough examination process is used to determine the number of books that will fulfill the needs of every student who wishes to buy the book.  At the same time, we strive to reduce the number of excess books sent back to the publishers.  Publishers assert that there is a direct relationship between the high costs of handling excess books (returns) and high priced textbooks.  By trying to have at least enough books for everyone who wants one, without tremendous excess, we hope to help publishers curb the steep rise in textbook prices.

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Copyright Information
The bookstore will accept legally photocopied or digital materials for sale or distribution provided those materials are accompanied by a permission statement from the publisher, rights holder, and a statement that all fees and royalties have been paid to the publisher/rights holder. Additional copyright information concerning permissions, copyright cleared material and copyright resources can be found by accessing the Journal Finder at the Pasquerilla Library or The United States Copyright Office. The bookstore will be happy to assist you in your copyright needs in the construction of a coursepack . Please refer to the following section on coursepacks.

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Coursepacks

• Why Request One In Advance? And, Why They Tend To Be Expensive...
  There is more to coursepacks than meets the eye.  In accordance with federal law, copyright permission must be obtained for copyrighted citation included in the coursepack.  This is a process that demands a lot of legwork.  Permissions are held either by publishers or individual authors, and royalties generally must be paid to the rights holder.
  
  Often, title rights are sold from one publisher to another or ownership reverts from a publisher or a succession of publishers to the author, who is not always easy to locate.  The process of tracking down the copyright holder and then obtaining permission is generally laborious, and many publishers require as much as eight weeks advance notice of a request for permission to copy from a work.  Obtaining permissions for thousands of citations is both time and labor intensive.
  
  Coursepack prices are determined by the cost of publisher royalties plus fees for photocopying and labor costs associated with obtaining copyright permissions.  Royalties and labor costs vary from pack to pack.
  
  While it might seem a more expedient solution to simple copy material without notifying the author(s), doing so would run counter to academic ethics of respecting the work, ideas and intellectual property of authors.  It also would violate the legal rights of the author or publisher.
  
  It is essential that you request your coursepacks at the same time that textbook information is requested.  This leaves us plenty of time to handle any copyright-related obstacles that arise and helps us to have coursepacks ready when students need them.
  
  Permission Request / Coursepack forms are available online by accessing Permission Request Form. Forms may be freely copied as needed.
  

• How To Get Desk Copies
  Desk copies are typically available directly through the publishers.  This allows them to establish their own relationships with faculty, and gain better knowledge about the titles that are for classroom use.  (“Desk copies” differ from “complimentary copies,” which publishers send to faculty members to introduce them to a particular textbook.)
  
  To make it easy for you to order desk copies, we can send desk copy order forms to your department and we keep a supply at the store.  To ensure that your desk copy arrives on time, it is a good idea to mail your request at approximately the same time as you request your course books (or at least 5 months before classes begin).  Other ways to obtain desk copies are by calling the publisher or accessing the publisher's website.  We would be happy to provide you with publishers’ addresses, phone numbers and website information to assist you in this process.
  
  In those instances when publishers will not provide desk copies, or if your desk copy has not arrived by the time you need it, we will loan you a copy of the book.  When we supply the book, we will charge your department directly.  Of course, when you return the book we will immediately credit your department’s account.  Textbooks charged to a department must be returned in the semester for which it was charged in order to obtain credit.  Textbooks returned in subsequent semesters will not be credited and will be returned to the department.

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Other Special Services From Your Bookstore

• Free Special Orders
  We will special order any book currently in print for our customers free of    service charges.  We welcome phone, fax, mail or e-mail orders.

• Faculty Authors
  Please notify us when a book of yours is published.  We carry a full selection of books by campus authors.

• Special Book Requests
  If there is a title you would like to see offered by the bookstore, we will try our best to stock it at your request.

• Online Access to Book Information
  As a member of the National Textbook Data Initiative, our faculty members have access to a wide variety of information relating to books, titles, publishers, authors and other professional colleagues.  Simply submit an online registration form at Faculty Online and you will have access to publisher links, title searches and more.

• Foreign Books
  We deal with many distributors who can help us source books published by foreign presses.  Please call us for assistance with ordering foreign books.

• Software At Educational Prices
  We can help you complement your academic and personal objectives with the latest software–at educational discount prices.  Our software selection is geared specifically to the academic mission of the campus.  We offer highly specialized academic products as well as standard, popular programs.

• Gifts & Rewards
  The bookstore offers an array of high-quality gift items including clothing, pens and other items imprinted with the campus logo.  In addition, we have greeting cards, gift books, dorm furnishings and many other items.  We also offer bookstore gift certificates in any amount for awards and gift-giving occasions.

• School Supplies
  Mailing supplies, school supplies and business accessories such as portfolios and organizers are always in stock.  Computer supplies such as diskettes, mouse pads and printer cables are available as well.

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