It's the start of a new semester, and time for students to file into Moore Hall, wait in long lines, shuffle through stacks of books, and write a check to the Bowdoin Bookstore.
However, the dollar amount that's been appearing on the check has increasingly become a problem for many Bowdoin students.
As Khalil Sharif '06 stepped up to the counter to purchase materials for the spring semester, he was treated to a bill of $520. He is only taking three classes.
According to the National Association of College Stores, textbook prices have been rising at twice the rate of inflation for the past 20 years and almost 60 percent of students are choosing to refrain from buying all the materials for all their courses.
Refraining from getting all the books is not always voluntary either.
"My credit account had a limit. I couldn't buy all my books," Sharif said.
Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Thomas Baumgarte said, "I'm shocked at some of the prices."
Many teachers, in response to the prices, have been actively trying to take some of the weight off students.
"I usually put all the books on reserve at the library, especially if they're expensive," Assistant Professor of English Aviva Briefel said.
"I [also] try to go with less expensive editions when possible," she said.
One resource that many professors have started to utilize is the library's e-reserve system for articles. On this system, students can download the course readings at their own computer, and the library takes care of copyright costs. However, some professors still require packets of articles that students must buy at the bookstore.
According to Course Materials and General Books Manager Michael Tucker, "If a course packet reading is available as an electronic article that already exists in the library's collection, we encourage faculty members to use the e-reserve system instead of including them in the printed course packet."
"If a faculty member wishes to use an article that is not in the library's collection, then the bookstore must obtain copyright permission themselves and pay any applicable royalties and fees," he said.
Lucky students in Visiting Instructor of Government Gerald DiGiusto's International Organizations class do not have to buy any course materials this semester because all of the readings are available on e-reserve.
Some professors have taken the next step in terms of addressing the increasing costs of textbooks?they give them to their students themselves. One of these professors is Professor of Social Sciences Susan Bell.
"I have routinely for a number of years said that if anyone is concerned about the cost of books for the course, that I have a few extra," Bell said.
As to why she does this, her answer is simple: "I understand there are always students that have fewer resources. I believe everyone should have the books.
Bell also said that she wasn't alone in this method, and that a few other members of the faculty in the Department of Sociology do the same for their classes.
Tucker and the Bowdoin bookstore have also been aware of the dramatic and rising prices.
"Like college bookstores everywhere, the Textbook Annex has seen an increase in the amount of money that publishers are charging us for new books," Tucker said.
"Frequent new editions, rising fuel and shipping costs, development of new technologies such as web access cards and CD-ROMS, and the bundling of textbooks with supplemental materials [have risen prices]," he added.
According to Tucker, the bookstore has observed the sharply rising costs for years and has been working on ways to lower prices. The method used most frequently by the bookstore has been raising the availability of used books to the students.
"With faculty help, 60 percent of the books on our shelves at the beginning of last semester were used books. The national average is below 25 percent," Tucker said.
However, despite the increased availability, many students still feel the burden.
One first year who wished to remain anonymous knows 10 students in his chemistry class, in addition to himself, who have not bought books and do not intend to.
"It costs $130," he said. "I'm not going to spend that on one book."
This student felt especially cheated by the textbook industry, noting, "I bought books for all my classes first semester. I didn't even open half of them. Now I'm cutting back on my production."
Despite the discouragement that some are feeling, the Textbook Annex is striving to help. "We are constantly trying to find ways to save students money," Tucker said.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) is also looking to give students a chance to shop around for lower-priced books ahead of each semester so they do not have to rely on buying them at the annex.
"We're working with the textbook annex to get the required course materials listed online for the start of the next semester," BSG Representative for the Class of 2007 Catrina Cartagena said.
"This is something both BSG and the annex are very excited about," she said.