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United Press International
WASHINGTON — Every school
child knows that in 1492, Columbus
sailed the ocean blue to discover
America.
Actually, many historians contend
the new world was discovered al
most 500 years earlier by a Norse
man named Leif Ericsson.
Americans observe Columbus’
feat on the second Monday in Oc
tober. This year, thanks to Presi
dent Carter and a 1964 congres
sional resolution, Americans can
honor both explorers on the same
day.
Carter designated next Monday
as Leif Ericsson Day in recognition
of h is discovery of North America
and the Scandinavian characteristics
of “imagination, courage and perse
verance.”
Since that’s the same day as Co
lumbus day it’s a federal holiday.
“Stories of brave men battling
fearful odds fire our imaginations,
Carter said. “We honor such men
long after the memories of their ad
ventures have been dimmed by
time. ”
THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1978
Page 3
EASTGATE
(109 WALTON)
846-1043
^
BACKYARD
WASHER TOSSIN'
GAME PLAYIN'
POOL SHOOTIN'
GOOD MUNCHIN'
BEER DRINKIN'
JUST SITTIN'
Live MUSIC
DESTINY"
9:00-1:00 A.M.
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Local bookstores lacking some textbooks
nds
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By KAREN ROGERS
Battalion Staff
It's only two days before your
isf. The textbooks still haven’t
wrived at any of the five
loLfores serving Texas AOM
Jnit'er«fi/ students. Your mis-
Km, should you decide to accept
it is to try to pass the test with-
■t/wring read the material.
Shortage of some textbooks oc-
Ws every semester, says Howard
■Hart, manager of the Texas A& M
■>k Store in the Memorial Student
inter.
BeHart explained there are sev-
ni factors that influence the
Ncstore’s decision on how many
iks to buy.
to determine how many books to
I for this fall, for example, the
Ikstore asks academic depart-
entsforan estimate of the number
tridents to be enrolled in a cer-
k class.
Jookstore employees then com-
this estimate with the regis-
■ s twelfth day roll from the pre-
pis fell semester.
Bext they check to see how many
"ksthey ordered for the class dur-
that period and compare that to
many books they actually sold.
•eHart says several factors are
len into consideration: the
nber of books that weren’t sold.
the age of the book, possible edition
changes and that four other stores,
University, Texas Aggie, Loupot’s
and the Book Mart, are ordering
these same books
“We order what we think we can
sell at this store," DeHart says. “If
for some reason we run out of books,
we call the department to find out
what happened. We reorder books
immediately, but there can be a
10-day to 6-week-wait before they
arrive."
DeHart says that each of the 77
departments on campus will have a
shortage of at least one textbook.
The shortage can be caused by
the publisher, the store manager
said. He estimates the bookstore
deals with about 300 companies.
Two of the more common prob
lems with these companies are that
they may drop the book because
they are not making enough money
on it or that they miscalculate the
numbers they need to print and end
up with a shortage themselves.
At the same time the bookstores
in College Station-Bryan are order
ing textbooks, DeHart says, all
other bookstores in the country are
ordering, too.
The bookstore’s profit margin also
influences the number of books the
store decides to buy.
“It costs 23 percent to run a
bookstore,” DeHart says. “The pub
lishers give a 20 percent markup on
the books, so we re already talking
about a 3 percent loss.”
The bookstores must pay a 5-6
percent freight charge on the books
when they are shipped. They must
also pay this charge if they choose to
return the books that are not sold.
“There’s no way you can make
money on a new book,” he says.“If it
weren’t for used books, we’d be in
the red every time.”
A 33 percent markup over cost on
used books enables the store to
make more money because they buy
the books for less than they cost
new, DeHart says.
As for students who are stuck with
old books, a wholesale company will
buy some of them back for a nominal
price.
The bookstore loses about
$60,000 a year in net profits on
books that can’t be returned.
“We can’t affort to be over
stocked. We are merchants and we
know what good business practices
are,” he says.
Mistakes in ordering on the part
of the bookstore can also cause de
lays in the arrival of books.
“We make mistakes,” DeHart
says. “We may not have double-
checked the name of a publishing
company and ordered the book from
the wrong company.”
Professors are asked to fill out re
quisition orders for the next semes
ter about three weeks into the prior
semester. For example, orders for
next spring’s books are now being
processed by the bookstore.
If professors do not turn in the
orders within the two-week dead
line, they could cause a delay in or
dering, DeHart says.
He added that only about 50 per
cent meet the deadline.
Some professors wait until a few
weeks or days before classes begin
to turn them in, he said.
These estimates by the professors
are needed so the bookstore can
know which and how many books it
can buy back from students, he said.
The bookstore has been collecting
data for the last three years on the
number of books sold, ordered, re
turned and within the next couple of
years will begin using computers “to
pinpoint much closer the number of
books we will need to order so we
don’t run out or have any left, ” De
Hart says.
Martha Camp, manager of Uni
versity Book Store, says her store
has “thousands of books sitting on
the shelves because we ordered well
over. ”
She explains her store also de
termines the number of books to
order based on past records and the
number the campus bookstore will
order.
HARD
WORKER
RICHARD W. LUCAS, SALES REPRESENTATIVE,
THOMAS ASSOCIATES
Richard W. Lucas recently joined us
as sales representative for Thomas
Associates. Richard has proven he
can work hard, and he has been
pleasing people with top-notch sales
and service. He can help you with
all your personal and business
insurance needs.
PROTECTIVE LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY
Home Office Birmingham, Alabama
Thomas Associates
520 E. University Drive
College Station, Texas 77840
Telephone: (713) 846-7714
thinks
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THE
DE SMART
DUY
VDURSEIF
SILLY'
BOOK
SALE!
60-85% SAVINGS
OFF ORIGINAL
PUBLISHED PRICES
n D PSYCHOLOGY □ HEALTH
n iSm A C i 0 MUSIC D ART LI AMERICANA
n m D PHILOSOPHY
n K n £,9 languages □ sociology
n how-to □ BIOGRAPHIES
n HODD IES □ SPORTS
□ g^'NC □ COOKING □ RELIGION
HARDBACKS
, • $1.99 • $2.99
$3.99 • $4.99
PAPERBACKS
"c • $1.49 • $1.99
Texas a&m
bookstode
mnn.? 6 Memorial Student Center
Ever wanted to work
for any of the several hundred
worldwide oil companies?
\bucan if you join us.
You can work for practically all
of the worldwide petroleum
companies when you join
Halliburton Services.
We’re part of a $5.4 billion
company, Halliburton Company,
that would rank 35 on the 1978
Fortune 500 if we were a
manufacturer.
We provide highly technical,
sophisticated services that are
absolutely essential to finding and
recovering oil and gas. We’re
recognized leaders in oilfield
services and are totally committed
to maintaining that leadership
position through technological
excellence.
We have a broad variety of
technical and scientific positions
open to graduates who can make
immediate contributions to
our capabilities.
Whether you select a position
that involves engineering our
services, researching and
developing new services, or in the
manufacturing areas of our
business, you’ll be gaining valuable
experience that you can get
nowhere else, experience that’s vital
to meeting the world’s
energy needs.
To learn more about the
opportunities we offer, look us up
in your placement library. Then,
be sure to contact the Halliburton
recruiter when he comes to your
campus. If you miss the
recruiter’s visit, write us at the
address below.
$
HALLIBURTON
SERVICES
Drawer 1431
Duncan, Oklahoma 73533
A member of the growing
HALLIBURTON Company
Equal Opportunity Employer M/F
On Campus Interviews:
October 6, 1978.