After surviving its test run last semester, the Mav Textbook Reserve has received an extra $2,000 to increase the number of textbooks available for students this semester. The Minnesota State Student Association created the program in response to students' complaints about paying for expensive textbooks.
The Bookstore Advisory Committee, faculty and the on-campus Barnes and Noble Bookstore also helped put the program into place. When initiated, MSSA requested a grant from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, which provided $5,000 to purchase select textbooks for courses taught at MSU.
"I feel the Mav Textbook Reserve has been very successful," said MSSA president Ryan Anderson. "I have heard very good feedback from students and faculty who use it."
Anderson said the number of users rose steadily during the program's first semester.
"My goals for the program are for it to continue to grow and also to not use student fees to support it," Anderson said. "I think we are about to accomplish the second goal by having the next bookstore vendor provide funds for it in the bookstore contract."
Memorial Library student supervisor Samantha Barnes said quite a few students use the Mav Textbook Reserve program, and indicated she would like to see a bigger selection available.
"It seems like they should have a larger variety of books," said the construction management major.
Art, psychology and calculus textbooks are checked out most frequently, but students in a total of 16 different classes, most of which are general education courses, have the opportunity to benefit from the program. The books are available to check out for two hours at a time from the Memorial Library Reserve Desk.
Careful consideration was given to the selection of textbooks, with the majority of the books costing between $80 and $100 and used by students in general education classes. More than 2,750 students are able to take advantage of the textbooks the program offers.
Jenna Lehmann is a Reporter staff writer
Be the first to comment on this article!