"Starting this semester, students may have noticed a significant change involving textbooks. Due to a provision to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, students now have access to textbook information prior to course enrollment.

"With this information, students now have the resources to determine which textbooks will be used in each class and an estimation of prices, supplied by The College Bookstore. The information is located at myOswego, under course registration, accessed by clicking the number located below the Course Registration Number (CRN).

"According to Susan Raby, director of The College Bookstore, the bookstore worked with the Provost Office to provide the textbook information to the students.

"With a listing of required textbooks months before classes begin, students can take advantage of shopping around for the best available prices.

"According to Patrick Kraft, owner of Kraftees, the store lobbied the college for years to make a booklist available to students.

""It’s a burden that has been removed," Kraft said.

"Now students don’t have to wait until the return to campus to get their books and they are able to shop around to save them money.

""Our sales didn’t seem to really be affected by it," Kraft said. "We are pretty competitive with online resources."

"Kraftees has been around for twenty years as an alternative to The College Bookstore.

""People have come to depend on us. They’re looking to us as a trusted voice," Kraft said.

"According to Terry Peck, store manager of Kraftees in Oswego, there are still issues to be ironed out with the new provision in order to give students the best available information. The faculty doesn’t always make a concrete decision on what books will be used for their curriculum and students end up not having the correct books.

"By the end of this year, Kraft plans to have the booklist for Oswego State available for students on Kraftees website with the prices and availability shown.

""I don’t fault anyone who wants to save money," Kraft said.