With midterms looming, many students are hitting the books — and CDs.
Publishing companies have started a trend to incorporate some type of interactive CD with textbooks. Some have quizzes, interactive games, explanations or visuals to enhance textbook materials.
The CDs also bring responsibility — they must be kept up with and can cause confusion by complicating the buyback process.
Some professors require students to use the CDs, which often require Internet access and sound. Some said the CDs are good for background information.
Some students tend to lose the CDs by the end of the semester, restricting them from selling the book back for the full buyback amount.
All the bookstores around campus will buy back a book without the CD, sometimes for a lower price, as long as the CD is only supplemental material or the book can be sold to a wholesaler.
New textbook CDs come sealed with a disclaimer warning that the book cannot be resold if the CD seal is opened. However, representatives from the LSU Bookstore, Chimes Textbook Exchange, Co-op and College Supply said the warning is a reminder to them, as the seller, that they cannot sell the book back to the publisher.
The CDs may be returned as long as they are not cracked or scratched and the student remembers to put them back in the textbook.
Business sophomore Cole Bryan has experienced both losing a CD and buying a book when someone else lost the CD. One time he lost a CD and had difficulty returning it, although he was able to sell it back for a lower price. This year, he bought a used anthropology textbook that was missing its CD.
“I was pretty disappointed,” he said. “I probably would have used the CD if I had it.”
The LSU Bookstore requests, but does not mandate, the CD be included with the text at buybacks.
Joe Bender, LSU Bookstore general manager, said students should return the CDs to allow the next students who buy the book the same value and privileges the CD offers.
The bookstore sent book request forms for the summer and spring semester, asking teachers if the CD is necessary or optional. If the CD is required, the bookstore will not buy back books without the CD.
“If the book is sold with a CD, it needs to have it in there,” said Silvia Hinojosa, Chimes Textbook Exchange manager. “We check to make sure it is the correct CD that matches the book.”
Chimes offers text-only or text-with-CD buybacks for many books.
Stacey Sudge, College Supply associate, noticed many students forget or lose their CDs at buyback time. She said most students have the CD but forget to bring it with them when they sell their books back.
Some students cannot use their CDs because they do not have Internet access or the CDs are broken.
Jacie Saunders, a psychology sophomore, said she had a biology book with a CD, but she could not get the CD to work on her computer, so she never used it.
“Some books have CDs that no one uses, so we buy them back without the CD,” said Bob Prescott, Co-op Bookstore manager.
He said the book wholesaler sets the value for the books if no University professors requested the book for the next semester.
Vincent White, a criminology junior, said the CD that came with his African-American literature textbook had interesting songs and readings, but the information was not helpful for the class.