Textbook Central
Textbook Central (a division of CentralEd) is a textbook procurement service which includes:
- The Textbook Loan Program, and
- The Managed Purchase Option.
Our service began as the centralized administration and distribution of textbooks to private and parochial school students on behalf of their school districts. For the past several years, we have also offered our procurement services directly to district bookroom facilities.
The Textbook Loan Program was first developed as a pilot for a group of five nonpublic schools in 2000. Under this Program, the participating private schools submit student enrollment lists and textbook requests directly to the Textbook Loan Program. The books are delivered to the private school during the summer for distribution to their students in September. This means that non-public school students and their parents no longer need to pick up and return books on loan from their district.
Six years ago for the first time we offered the program to all Nassau school districts and to the nonpublic schools serving these students. Our program has been very well received and continues to grow. The chart below shows our increasing enrollment over the past seven years.
| Year | Private Schools | Nassau County Districts (of 56) | Approximate # of students |
| 2000-2001 (Pilot) | 5 | 23 | 1,200 |
| 2001-2002 | 37 | 42 | 6,300 |
| 2002-2003 | 50 | 45 | 11,600 |
| 2003-2004 | 64 | 47 | 14,000 |
| 2004-2005 | 75 | 48 | 16,000 |
| 2005-2006 | 90 | 50 | 17,500 |
| 2006-2007 | 95 | 51 | 18,000 |
These books are owned collectively by the participating districts for use by their students attending the private school, but the inventory is maintained at the private school. Districts are charged for textbooks based on the number of their students attending the participating private school and the average book costs per student at those schools.
The direct distribution of textbooks and consumables to the private schools greatly reduces the need for regional or district-based book depositories. While the number of participating non-public schools has grown each year, some larger non-public schools (predominantly high schools) in Nassau County have been resistant to changing to the centralized system.
The Managed Purchase Option (MPO) Program orders books still needed in district bookrooms either for private and parochial schools that have not yet joined the program or to help fill supplemental orders for the district's own book needs. The school district forwards its requests for books directly to the MPO program and then we handle all phases of the transaction from order to payment.