“I have a test tomorrow and I still can’t find the book anywhere.”

NIU book vendors have heard this complaint from students throughout the semester, in reaction to a so-called textbook shortage occurring statewide and nationwide.

Richard Boardman, textbook manager at Village Commons Bookstore, 901 Lucinda Ave., said if a student does not buy books during the first three weeks of the semester, obtaining books after that period is the student’s responsibility.

The textbook ordering procedure at VCB is done using three comparisons, Boardman said. The instructor estimates how many students are expected to enroll in a class, a printout is received from the NIU registrar and Boardman compares the “two pieces of knowledge” with how many books were sold in previous years.

“We thought we can sell half and they (the Holmes Student Center Bookstore) can sell half. “If you walk around, you can see there are a lot more books unsold. We have very few holes on the shelves,” he said.

The crux of the problem is that estimates for class enrollment tend to be low, Boardman said. The teacher will report that 75 students are expected in a class because the class always has included that amount. The registrar also might send a listing of 75 students. But more people than expected might sign up for a course during add/drop or, in some cases, fewer people sign up, he said.

Boardman said he never turns students away. He asks students if they have “checked the other store.” If students have tried both stores, the bookstore orders the book for the student. He said ordering time varies from one day to one week, depending on the location of the book publisher.

Lois Kreidle, Holmes Student Center bookstore manager, said, “I order what I think will sell from past years.”

She said she receives a list of needed textbooks from professors and she said she will place orders for students.

Kreidle said she places special orders to get books for students. In this case, the student fills out an order form. It might take seven to 10 days to get a book, she said.

Alan Matan, a junior education major, said that the one time he needed a book and it wasn’t on the shelf, the bookstore ordered it for him and he received it in seven days.

Patric Spradlin, a clerk at Northern Lights Bookstore, 221 W. Lincoln Hwy., said he waits on two or three professors who return on a regular basis to order textbooks. Spradlin said he hears complaints from students who say they “can’t find it (a book) anywhere.”

If there are many students who cannot find a book, Northern Lights tries to accommodate their needs by ordering it for them. He referred to this as an “ad hoc case” when they try to suit students’ immediate needs.

At Texas Southern University at Houston, about 100 students were unable to get the books they needed for their mid-term exams. TSU book vendors said the university had not paid them for the books.

The TSU auxiliary enterprises director said nearly $500,000 was owed to the bookstore because TSU had chosen to pay other bills first. An administration spokesman said the amount owed was actually about $200,000 and the book vendors would soon be paid.

Marc Lipsky, a senior political science major at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said books for one of his political science classes arrived at the bookstore during the fourth week of the spring quarter, which began in March. The teacher had ordered the textbooks in early January. Lipsky said 26 students are enrolled in the course.