Private bookstores won a partial legal victory this month when the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of a suit that would force SUNY Albany to release course textbook lists to off-campus bookstores.
Mary Jane Books, a private bookstore in Albany, filed a lawsuit last year against SUNY Albany after a three-year fight to get the university to make the book lists available upon request. The university refused, arguing that no master list of course texts existed.
"I met with the records office before taking them to court, basically asking them how we can make the whole process of getting course lists easier, without having to drop 400 FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests. They basically said to come back and sue them," said Adam Militello, co-owner of Mary Jane Books.
So Mary Jane did.
A state trial court ruled against the bookstore and said FOIL did not require colleges to create a master list of course texts, a decision the store appealed.
"We're ecstatic that we won at the appellate level because otherwise it would have been over," Militello added.
Although the court ruling is a positive sign in Mary Jane's fight to open lists to all off-campus stores, Militello pointed out that the development came only after his store was forced to legal extremes.
"The problem with courts is access; the rich can do it. Every dime we have made has went into this court case," he said. "I don't know how many bookstores are going to want to spend tens of thousands of dollars hiring not just any lawyer, but a competent lawyer."
Richard Mandziak, manager of the College Store located on Maple Road, which sells new and used textbooks, said that the corporation which owns his store, Nebraska Book Corporation, is considering legal action against UB, although no course of action has been decided.
"I'm hopeful that this is some type of precedent," he said.
UB is watching to see the final outcome of the matter, said Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs. If the decision becomes law, he said, the university will comply with the measure.
"This is one of the things the university has never coordinated," Black said of creating a master textbook list. "It's a relatively massive undertaking."
Although the decision may make it easier for off-campus bookstores to stock texts, Greg Neumann, manager of the University Bookstore, said that he does not expect business to drop sharply.
"The impact will probably be minimal. ... Any company can get our lists now, anyway," Neumann said, referring to the store's online book listings.
"As far as my situation is concerned, I'll give them our URL, say be my guest," he added.
"In the long run, it will be a leveling effect," said Jonathan Welch, manager of Talking Leaves, the Main Street bookstore where UB English majors, among others, are frequently sent for their texts. Welch does not expect his business to alter dramatically if textbook lists become public information.
"It's never been our intent or goal to be a textbook store," he said.
Neumann also pointed out that if UB adopts an open-access system, the University Bookstore would have access to the book lists of instructors who currently choose to order from alternative stores, such as Talking Leaves.
UAlbany has until Dec. 8 to decide whether to contest the court's ruling.
"It's not over until it's over. [SUNY Albany] has until Dec. 8 to ask for an appeal to the state's highest court," said Militello. "They will probably ask for an appeal."
"It remains to be seen how it will be handled," said Welch. "SUNY will have to decide whether it's worth the money."
