N.C. A&T officials are considering outsourcing its campus bookstore citing declining textbook sales as one of the factors.

According to Robert Pompey, vice chancellor for business and finance A&T is hearing proposals from vendors wanting to manage the store. They will not make a decision until the end of the semester upon further review.

“These are challenging times within the entire bookstore industry,” said Pompey. “Students are looking at used or online books for cheaper options.”

Officials learned in a board of trustees meeting last Friday that sales from the campus bookstore has decreased 15.7 percent over the last five years. The brunt of the decrease stems from textbook sales.

Kendric Faison, a junior accounting major has not bought a textbook on campus since his freshman year.

“I order on Chegg or go to Ed McKay’s,” Faison said. “It’s way cheaper.”

Currently, A&T manages and operates its bookstore. Between now and the end of the semester, officials will solicit outside vendors such as Barnes and Noble, Follett Corporation and the Nebraska Book Company to operate the bookstore.

Six schools within the UNC-System currently have outside contractors managing their bookstores. Barnes and Noble currently operates the bookstore at UNCG.

Although sales within apparel and supplies have seen a slight increase according to Pompey, textbook sales continue to plummet. About 75 percent of the bookstore’s revenue comes from textbook sales.

“Textbook costs are continuing to climb,” said Pompey. “We are just looking at the options for our bookstore.”

Freshman Chris Johnson said he tries to support the campus bookstore when possible. If his textbooks are under $150 he says he will buy from campus. However they are more expensive he opts for something cheaper.

“Textbooks are so expensive,” said the nursing major from Greensboro. “Amazon tends to be cheaper.”

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• kELCIE C. MCCRAE, Senior Editor