former ivated as- i student. ofLa W . od Robert fhe third nits were roelich of house on i dragged Froelidr hbed and the ind- , said he ext week Leif finally has his day 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. ms iuston to i, the mil imong83 contend s not in- wort on words Local bookstores lacking some textbooks nds Laredo Lends in m today. ; of Mar- e City of a super- al try plans ntal Air- million a combi- uled for arply in he gov- j spring >or De- ercent, d 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. 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