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    After their first look at college textbook prices, most students balk at the cost. But common statements, such as "How could it be that much for just a few books?" and "The bookstore must make a killing," show how little consumers know about the textbook world.
    Students make assumptions about textbook buyback, stocking and pricing, which may or may not be true.

The Logic Behind Buyback
    Low buyback prices are one of the first things students complain about. But buyback can have benefits for both students and bookstores, said Mike Lickteig, Jayhawk Bookstore textbook manager.
    "It's an advantage for the student because a textbook is virtually the only product you can return when you're done with it," Lickteig said. "And typically, if you can get the best buyback price, it's a good value. For us, it's an easy way to acquire the book. We don't have to pay for shipping because here it is."
    Students can get the best value if they buy used books and then sell them back. Used books are priced at 75 percent of the new value. And at buyback, the bookstore pays 50 percent of that value. If students get the full buyback price, then they will have used the book for only 25 percent of the price it would cost to buy it new.
    But getting that prime buyback rate depends on whether the book is going to be used in a class the next semester.
    "That requires cooperation from the faculty member to readopt that same book," said Estella McCollum, KU Bookstore business manager. "We'll only buy books that professors tell us they're going to reuse."
    Bookstores pays less for books that won't be used again. When students get nothing for a book, it's usually because the book is "dead." Dead books usually have come out in a new edition or have outlived their average two-year life spans.
    Chris Armstrong, University Book Shop textbook manager, said the bookshop sells dead books to specialty bookstores for 50 cents to $1.
    "Basically, we're just getting rid of them," Armstrong said. "We're just recycling them."
    Steve Rhodes, KU Bookstore director, said buyback prices depend a lot on what books professors choose.
    "Publishers don't like it, but if professors use the same book for many semesters in a row, it's much better for the students," Rhodes said.



    But Annette Becker, Lenora sophomore, said even knowing the buyback logic doesn't help explain some anomalies.
    "This book I was trying to sell back, well these books, I know they were being used in a class again," Becker said. "I know they were being used in the same class this semester, and they didn't take them back. And I have no clue why."



Stocking Textbooks    
    Bookstores prefer to buy used textbooks, which they can get most easily through student buyback.
    "Our profit margins are better with used books than new books," Armstrong said.



    But if buyback generates too few used books, bookstores turn to textbook wholesalers to get a big enough stock.
    Once professors submit textbook choices, called adoptions, bookstores immediately start looking for used copies of the book.
    If textbook managers can't find a book used, they must purchase new books directly from publishers.
    "Once we determine what used books will be available, we will order from publishers, and that's usually the large part of the price," Lickteig said. "So we start the ordering process almost immediately."
    McCollum said the bookstores made educated guesses about class enrollment to figure out how many books to order.     
    Lickteig said he also considered the store's estimated market share, or how many enrolled students would actually shop there.
    "We will guess what we believe our share of the market to be," Lickteig said. "A lot of it is frankly guessing. I would like to say it's very structured and formulaic, but there is some guesswork to it."
    After purchasing a book, the bookstores mark up the price. The bookstores add between 1 cent and 4 cents per $1, depending on whether the book is new or used. That markup pays for employee, receiving and shipping costs. And because KU Bookstore is a non-profit, any other profits go to student activities, scholarships and campus resources.
    
What People Don't See
    Students often complain about price gouging, unavailable books, or bundled books, and they generally believe that the bookstore is at fault.
    If a book isn't available, it's probably because professors submitted their textbook adoptions late. Other reasons could be that a new edition is still going to print, the book is hard to acquire, or the book is out of print, McCollum said. But publishers, not the bookstores, ultimately decide the prices, she said.
    "It's a pricing game to keep the publishers in business, I'm thinking," McCollum said. "But they have a company to run, too, I guess."
    Students also encounter bundled or shrink-wrapped books that include both a textbook and a workbook. That often happens because publishing representatives suggest new editions and custom editions of books to professors.
    Lickteig said publishers and professors dictate what a bookstore sells and at what price. He said students think the bookstores only stock expensive products to turn a profit.
    "I think that they believe we play a larger role in determining what product is placed in their hands than we do," he said. "We have no say in what an instructor selects. I think the students believe we are benefiting by only selling them that as a package. And we have no say in it whatsoever."

   

    When Diane Stoddard's youngest son was born in 2005, she faced something few parents ever have to think about. Her son had a heart defect and needed surgery. The situation challenged her to find the best possible treatment, but it brought out the best of her abilities.
    Susan Cook, Stoddard's sister-in-law, said Stoddard was surprisingly together considering that her young son had to have surgery at such a young age.
    "I only saw her one time when my son was graduating from high school," Cook said. "It was the day before they went to Dallas; I saw her cry. I would cry every day thinking about my baby going in to have a heart surgery. She's strong. That's what I tell her."


    Stoddard said she worked to overcome the situation the best she could.
    "One of my biggest challenges early with him was that I didn't know what he had, and I felt very much out of control," Stoddard said. "And I'm a person who's not accustomed to that. So I tried to figure out how I could get more control over something that came out of the blue. I decided to use the skill that I had in my job and apply it to this thing with my son. I learned everything I could about his type of defect."
    The organization and persistence that aided her with her son are some of the same skills Stoddard uses in her job as an assistant city manager for the City of Lawrence.
    Stoddard endlessly researched her son Adam's condition, transposition of the great arteries. She finally found the optimal treatment, a specialized procedure developed by Dr. Hisashi Nikaidoh of the Children's Medical Center in Dallas. Her son needed one surgery soon after birth, another when he was one year old, and he'll need another at the end of May.
    In her job, Stoddard supports the city manager in making sure the city operates smoothly, and she specifically works with the police and fire unions, economic development activities, the department of utilities and the transit system.
    "It's just been fascinating," Stoddard said. "It's really a great career for somebody who wants to be a lifelong learner because there's plenty of opportunity to keep learning and apply what you learned."
    Stoddard became interested in city government when she took part in Lawrence High School's "Youth in Government" program and saw how the city commission and city manager's office worked. After completing an undergraduate degree at the University in political science in 1992, she joined KU's public administration master's program and graduated in 1995.
    One thing people notice right away about Diane is her ability to work well with others, said John Nalbandian, professor of public administration.
    "I think the thing that stood out for me with Diane was her compassion and her concern for others, putting others before herself," Nalbandian said. "I think that can really work well for a public servant. That's her formula."


     Stoddard was born and raised in Lawrence. She worked in Manhattan for 11 years and in Ottawa for two years before deciding to move back to Lawrence.
When Stoddard got the chance to move back to her hometown in 2007, she knew it was what she wanted to do. Family had always been one of the most important things in her life, and she wanted to be close to them after leaving in 1994.
    "The job was a unique opportunity, and as equal of a draw for me to be able to come back and be with my family," Stoddard said. "The timing was really right. My dad has Alzheimer's, so being able to be back and give me mom support with that has really been a help."
    While living in Manhattan, Stoddard often came back to visit. But Stoddard's mother, Dorothy Cook, said her daughter wanted to be even closer.
    "She wasn't that far away, but the thing was she missed being able to jump in a car and see us in five minutes," Cook said.
    Stoddard and her husband, Brian, ultimately decided it was worth it to move back to Lawrence.
    "We just figured that there were a lot of things we were missing from being far away," Brian Stoddard said. "So we decided to do it. Family is probably the most important reason why we're here."
    Stoddard's two sons, nine-year-old Nathan and three-year-old Adam, add an essential dimension to her life, she said.
    "They're just great boys," Diane Stoddard said. "It's just been such a joy to be a mother and have that balance in my life. Kids have a wonderful way of making you see what's important."
    Family will always come first in Diane Stoddard's life. She said working and living in her hometown has been a blessing.
    "I have the great fortune of being able to live here and have all my immediate family live here with me," Diane Stoddard said. "I haven't really been very far away from my family, which is by design. I really cherish the time I have with them."

    The City of Lawrence would lose about $1.7 million if the 2010 governor's budget keeps liquor tax revenues as part of state funds, instead of returning them to the city.
    The potential budget reduction threatens the city's ability to fund items already in its budget, such as Parks and Recreation and social programs, said Casey Toomay, city budget manager.
    "Liquor tax is one of the revenues in the city that has actually had some growth in the past years," Toomay said. "That means growth in the programs supported by that. Likewise, if there's a reduction, there'll be a reduction in services."
    Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control, a division of the Department of Revenue, collects a 10 percent liquor excise tax on all establishments that serve alcohol. Alcoholic Beverage Control reported collecting $35.6 million in liquor taxes statewide for fiscal year 2008, which lasted from July 2007 to June 2008.
    Usually the state returns 70 percent of the liquor tax revenue and keeps the other 30 percent to use in alcoholism treatment and other social programs, said Tom Groneman, director of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Lawrence divides its percentage equally into three funds: general operating, special alcohol and special recreation.
    The general operating fund is responsible for main city services. The special alcohol fund gives money to programs such as alcohol prevention training, the Boys and Girls Club and the Lawrence Police Department. The special recreation fund helps pay for Parks and Recreation, as well as the Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence Arts Commission and Lawrence City Band concerts. These services would be jeopardized if the state cuts off their current funding, Toomay said.
    Approximately $600,000 of the total $1.7 million the city budgeted for this year and last for goes directly to Parks and Recreation. If the state keeps the liquor taxes, the city may have to reduce or eliminate services, said Ernie Shaw, acting director of Parks and Recreation.
    "When you take $600,000 out of a budget, it certainly makes a differences," Shaw said.
    The city will have to amend its currently operating budget halfway through its fiscal year if the state budget passes, Toomay said. That's because the state and local fiscal years don't match. The next state fiscal year starts on July 1, 2009, and goes until June 30, 2010, but the city's fiscal year already started on Jan. 1, 2009.
    Changing the budget in the middle of a fiscal year could be hard because the city has already outlined all its expenses for the year. Taking money out of the equation would compromise services that have already been promised funding.
    Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed attributing the liquor tax money to the state's general fund to eliminate gaps in the budget in early January. But the Kansas Senate and House are still debating the budget's specifics.
    The Senate originally introduced the measure as Senate Bill 127, and referred it to the Assessment and Taxation Committee in late January. Although the bill died in committee, the overall Senate could still include it as part of the final budget.
    Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita and chair of the Assessment and Taxation Committee, said he opposed taking the liquor tax money away from the cities.
    "I just think it's bad policy to have a law on the books that gives money to the localities and then on a whim take it away from them," Donovan said. "It makes the local levels of government distrustful of the state, and rightfully so."
    The City of Lawrence won't know for sure what it has to cut until the end of the Kansas legislative session in late April or early May, Shaw said. He said he realizes the bad economy takes its toll on all levels of government but regrets the way the state is trying to handle its budget problems.
     "I understand it," Shaw said. "They're going through the same thing everyone is going through. I hope they find it somewhere else besides the liquor tax."