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The process for determining quantities begins as soon as adoptions are received from faculty. The buyer must determine the quantity on hand in inventory, determine the quantity he or she expects to receive through buyback, check records and histories of those texts, research new titles, obtain estimated enrollment figures, and conduct a used book search. Review the course history to determine if the course usually fills up, if additional sections have been added, or if the course is only partially full.
Accurately estimating the number of required and recommended textbooks needed for each class is the textbook buyer's most critical responsibility and one that cannot be discharged without access to complete and accurate records.
In order to make these buying decisions, buyers must create and utilize the following records:
Course history records show:
- Comparison between estimated and actual enrollment numbers
- Whether students bought optional titles
- Information on how many books were requested by faculty and ultimately required
- When the textbook will be discussed in the term
- How the textbook was utilized in the course
- Price
- Edition
- Binding
- Previous sources
- The total number of the title sold the previous term
- All the courses for which the title has been adopted
- Information on the number of titles already in circulation on campus
- Publication date
Buyback history records show the amount of books obtained through buyback
Instructor history records can indicate:
- Which instructors are good at estimating quantities
- Whether the students are likely to purchase the textbook
Department record systems (whether manual or computerized) should also be designed to record some or all of the following information:
- Author, title, edition, ISBN, publisher, and an alternate source for each title
- Current net or list prices and discounts for new and used copies
- Term or terms used
- Department, course number, section number and faculty member
- Estimated enrollment for each course
- Beginning inventory (new and used)
- Purchases (publisher, wholesaler and buyback)
- Purchase order number and date
- Invoice number and date
- Actual enrollment for each course section
- Ending inventory (new and used)
- Number of copies returned to the supplier
- Copies of faculty correspondence and requests for information
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