Spreading the literary love

"Students for Free Textbooks" founder offers students the opportunity to pay it forward

 by Charlie Jannetto
 published on Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Chelsea Kent / STATE PRESS MAGAZINE

Think of all the textbooks you purchased this semester — you probably spent anywhere from $300 to $500 for a stack of books that will hardly be opened. This tradition has haunted college students in this country for eons.

Thankfully (for the sake of the trees), the bookstore has a system of buying and reselling used books.

Still, one can't help but feel screwed, receiving nothing more than bus fare for a 6-pound chemistry book that will be resold for more than $100. It was with this understanding that I decided to forego this process and take a different approach.

I imagined how painless it would be to not have to pay for books at all. I could make this dream come true with the contents of a dusty box tucked under my extra-long twin-size bed.

Why not just give my old books away instead of perpetuating the bookstore's oppressive system of buy-backs? Besides, the happiness of a fellow poor college student is worth much more to me than a measly $20.

Thus, after my first semester at ASU, I donated several of my books to friends, but with one disclaimer: the books had to be passed on after they were finished with them.

It's an idea rooted in a movie I once saw, and I've also heard that it's a good marketing tactic. It roughly translates to this: pay it forward.

This idea naturally sparked the need for a Facebook group, appropriately titled "Students for Free Textbooks." The group not only serves to spread the idea itself, but also to help connect those who wish to exchange textbooks.

If I may borrow the words of a fellow visionary: I have a dream too, and, like Dr. King's dream, this one involves sharing, understanding and having compassion for our sisters and brothers on campus. I have faith that this dream will prevail, and that buying textbooks will cease to be the burden it is now.

Who knows, with the size of this campus, we might even save a few rainforests in the process.

So pull those old books off the shelves and take a few minutes to list them on Facebook Marketplace, or call up a friend that's now in a class you previously took. Come on now, share the love!

— Reach the writer at spm@asu.edu
»Send us your own life story at spm@asu.edu.