For years, college bookstores have been textbook monopolies on campuses all over the United States. Students had to buy books there because there was nowhere else to get them. Today, anyone with a credit card and access to the Internet can buy virtually anything on the web without leaving home. Sites like Textbooks.com, Ecampus.com andVarsityBooks.com have sprung up, boasting new and used textbooks at a sizable discount, as well as other essential college amenities. Discouraged by long lines and outrageous pricing, some students now choose to log on to such sites in lieu of going to their campus bookstore.

Has competition from these online textbook companies affected business at the St. Olaf Bookstore?

Jerry Bilek, the trade book specialist at the St. Olaf Bookstore, says the business at the bookstore has actually gone up since last year, and itÕs the online textbook companies that are losing money.

Is it really any cheaper or easier to buy books online? While searching for the books, you must be sure to find the exact publisher and edition of the book your instructor requires. The St. Olaf Bookstore has already done that for you. Plus, if you really want to get a good deal, you must shop around at the different websites to fish out the lowest possible prices on your textbooks. That takes even more time.

Another thing to consider is shipping and handling. The books may seem cheaper, but once you add on those extra costs, they arenÕt necessarily much less expensive.

Students have other reasons for not buying online, too. "I donÕt know what books IÕm going to need for my classes until right before classes begin," senior John Taylor remarked. "And I often change my schedule around at the last minute.

College bookstores do not make much profit on textbooks, actually. The publishers set the prices of the texts, and then retailers buy them at a set price. The prices are often so high that a discount is simply not possible. The online companies donÕt make much money either because the books are discounted.

Even though buying online might be a hassle, St. Olaf is joining the growing number of colleges that is offering books online. Last year, the St. Olaf and Carleton Bookstores began an online book-buying strategy called "The Big Package" to compete with the online businesses. If you buy all the books required for a certain class (hence, "The Big Package"), you receive a 10% discount on each book. Workers package the books into boxes for you, and you pick them up at a designated time. No waiting in long lines, searching for books, etc. It makes buying books much easier.

About 10% of St. Olaf students ordered their books through "The Big Package" this year. It is an alternative to waiting in line at the bookstore, or waiting online for your books.