Dear Faculty and Students,
The UTC Bookstore, operated by our partners at Barnes and Noble, understands the impact that the current unprecedented situation is having on our campus partners and students. The Bookstore is committed to helping maintain consistency and ensuring students are equipped to learn wherever they are located. Below are several updates related to textbooks and other Bookstore operations.
Rental Textbook Returns and Buybacks
Any students who have physical rental books will be given a free UPS label to ship books back to the Bookstore at the end of the semester. Rented textbooks will continue to be due on the last day of exams, but if a student has an exam, the rented textbooks can be shipped back to the bookstore the following day (post marked 4/29/20). A free UPS shipping label will be emailed to the email address that the student used to create his or her rental account. Buyback periods will be extended once students return to campus to ensure they can continue to sell books back. The Bookstore is also providing free shipping for all items on its website, to ensure students can get what they need.
VitalSource Access
Barnes and Noble has joined VitalSource and leading publishers to provide free access to eTextbooks through the remainder of the spring semester. As supplemental materials and resources, students will now be able to access these eTextbooks free of cost to help them successfully complete their academic year.
To access VitalSource, students should visit bookshelf.vitalsource.com. Before students can begin searching for and reading ebooks, they will need to log-in or create a Bookshelf account with their institution-provided email address.
- Students accessing Bookshelf for the first time: Instructions on how to create a Bookshelf account can be found here. Once students create an account with an institution-provided email address, they should login and click on the “Explore” tab in the upper left corner of the screen to search by ISBN, Title or Author to find their free ebooks.
- Students with existing Bookshelf accounts linked to their institution-provided email address: Students with existing Bookshelf accounts linked to their institution-provided email address will see a new tab called “Explore”when they login in the upper left corner of the screen to search by ISBN, Title or Author to find their free ebooks.
If students need additional assistance gaining access to the site or have questions, please visit the support website.
Bartleby Access
In order to ensure students are equipped for ongoing success, the Bookstore will provide students free access to online self-tutoring and writing resources via Bartleby. Through June 15, students will have access to 10 free step by step solutions and tutoring, per month, from bartleby learn, as well as free premium access to a 24/7 virtual writing center through bartleby write.
The Bookstore knows this is a challenging time for everyone, and they are willing to help however they can.
If you have any additional question regarding the Bookstore, please contact Kellie Wright, UTC Bookstore Manager, at sm430@bncollege.com.
Thank you,
Tyler Forrest
Tyler S. Forrest
Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance