Shorten lines, put people to work

Brian Wallheimer
Editor in Chief

Welcome back, everyone.

I must say I had a great break and I hope everyone can say the same. Everything was great, until I had to stand in line for books.

Of course, no one likes to stand in line for books the week before school. There are a million things I would rather do, like take finals again, but I really didn't have a choice.

I appreciate the rental system that SIUE has because I would hate to pay for all my books. But in the long run, I pay for books anyway. I always have to go to the University Bookstore and buy a few books that are not available at Textbook Service. As I wandered through the rows at the University Bookstore, a friend of mine realized he would have to buy more than $100 worth of books for just one class.

This is outrageous. While I am glad we don't have to pay for all our books like many schools force students to do, it makes absolutely no sense to make students wait in a line to get books at Textbook Service and then make them turn around and pay for other books that Textbook Service does not have.

I wish someone would take the time to figure out which books are not being used in classes and get them out of Textbook Service. At the same time, perhaps this organizational genius can figure out the books we are forced to buy every semester from the University Bookstore and get them to Textbook Service.

I still don't know if that would help the lines. I understand there are more than 12,000 students waiting to get their books, but I don't think the line has to be as bad as it is.

I got my books on Tuesday. When I stood in line I waited between 20 and 30 minutes. That's not a really long time in most cases and the wait has been worse, but there were only about 20 students ahead of me. I handed over my student ID at the front of the line and I waited for my name to be called.

Several student workers walked up and down the long aisles of books with schedules in hand and placed the books on tables so other workers could scan them and give them to the students.

As I watched, I noticed that three of nearly a half dozen computers were not being used. What struck me as odd was the fact that several times, I could count seven student workers who had nothing to do. They just leaned against the walls and waited to be handed a schedule so they could hunt books.

I never saw a point when there were fewer than three students standing idly. This doesn't make sense to me. How hard would it be to teach a few of them how to use the computers? It would obviously save time. I've watched the books being scanned. You scan the ID and the books. Then you print out a receipt and have the student sign a copy. It doesn't look like rocket science to me.

If you break down the numbers, Textbook Service was open for 50 hours from Tuesday through Sunday. If we say there are approximately 12,000 students waiting to get books, that averages out to 2,000 students per day, 240 students per hour and four students per minute.

To be realistic, not all students get their books the week before school. But they could, which means Textbook Service should be ready to handle four students per minute.

I don't know how many people got their books last week. What I am getting at is that time is not being used efficiently. I have better things to do than stand in line for a half hour to get my books. And I wouldn't have to if the university didn't waste my time.

I am glad that I don't have to buy all my books, so maybe I shouldn't complain. But when you give people something, eventually they want more. Renting books is a privilege that many students across the country don't have. I am happy to have that privilege. But I want more.

I think about 30 minutes of my time would be a good start.