For those students who have yet to purchase their books this semester for fear of wiping out their bank account, worry not. For the first time, in addition to book titles and authors being listed, ISBNs have been added to BookMarq’s Web site, ensuring students can find the exact text their class requires if shopping somewhere other than BookMarq.

This change is in accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which was signed into law in August 2008 by then President George W. Bush. Section 112 of the act requires all universities provide ISBNs so students can find the most affordable textbooks available.

The law becomes enforceable in July 2010, but Marquette has taken the proactive step of issuing ISBNs starting this semester.

According to the act, “the purpose … is to ensure that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and enhancing transparency and disclosures with respect to the selection, purchase, sale and use of course materials.”

David Konkol, BookMarq manager, said the change was an enhancement to its system.

“The aim of our transparency effort and this upcoming requirement is to bring as much information to our students so they can make the best educational decisions,” he said.

Students are able to use ISBNs to compare book prices from numerous outlets, including off-campus stores like Sweeney’s College Books and Web book suppliers like Chegg.com and Amazon.com.

“Competition isn’t new,” Konkol said. “Ultimately, competition is great for students and keeps us sharp in the goods and services we provide.”

Colleen King, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she compared prices at different online suppliers.

“This semester it was easier for me to find cheaper books,” King said. “Usually there was not a huge difference, but I saved more money than if I had just bought all my books from BookMarq.”

Charles Schmidt, public relations director for the National Association of College Stores, a trade organization connected with Marquette’s bookstore, believes the publication of ISBNs will have little to no effect on BookMarq.

“ISBN numbers with textbooks are not actually as accurate as they once were because of bundling,” he said. “Sometimes publishers will charge as much for one book as a bundle would cost at a campus bookstore.”

Many professors package books together in order to ensure that students are covering all angles of a subject. These books from BookMarq come wrapped together upon purchase. The bundle contains textbooks and supplemental materials all sold at one price through a college bookstore.

Many students still prefer to compare prices on single items. In addition to searching for the cheapest books online, students are exploring other options for class materials.

For instance, Denmark-based BookBoon provides free textbooks online. The company reports more than 1 million book downloads annually. The catch is that the online content is written exclusively for the Web site by experts employed by the company, rather than electronic versions of existing textbooks. While it might not be the exact text a teacher requires, it is supplemental material that is completely free.

“Students can not only download our books form our site but they can also be downloaded directly via Facebook” through a Facebook app, said E.A. Blake, Bookboon.com sales manager, in an e-mail.