Odd Jobs: Read any good books lately?

My husband, for the sake of our budget, recently called a moratorium on bookstore visits. But I knew just what to do during the bookstore blackout: take a job at MBS.

MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc., located at 2711 W. Ash, is a leader in wholesale textbook distribution and, with close to 820 employees, one of the largest employers in Columbia.

I arrive at 7 a.m. for work. Mark Nistendirk, the hiring coordinator, escorts me to the direct shipping department. The 320,000-square-foot warehouse is a maze of bookshelves, conveyor belts and computers.
Lisa James, the department head, introduces me to Rhonda Sims, my mentor for the day. On an average day, the department processes 6,000 orders. During the busy season, that number goes up to 15,000.

There are two libraries at MBS: one manual and one mechanical. The mechanical library houses metal bins, each holding 30 to 40 books. These bins are stored in 25-foot-tall racks, accessed by machines that read their content and distribute them via conveyor belt. It is a feat of engineering that is both mesmerizing and fascinating to watch.

Rhonda and I start at the mini load, where these containers’ contents are sorted for further distribution elsewhere in the warehouse. Purple metal stairs span the conveyor belt in several places. Wondering where I might end up if I slip, I follow Rhonda, stepping carefully over the moving packages.

Typing in her ID, Rhonda starts up the station. She runs through the drill. A foot pedal advances the book bin on the conveyor. She scans the bar code on the box, and the titles she needs appear on a computer screen. She pulls each appropriate title and scans the bar code, and a red light flashes under a blue tote along with the number of books needed to fill the order. When all the titles needed have been pulled, she sends the metal bin back to the stacks.

I’m pedal happy. Overshooting the first bin, I catch the order before it’s out of reach. I scan the box and look up to read the titles. I pull the first one and distribute two copies to a blue tote. I close out the bin and send it back to the library. A number of online orders for Kaplan are rolling in, so we head upstairs to help out in the pods.

It may be 20 degrees outside, but it is perpetually summer in the warehouse. All the machinery puts out a lot of heat. While the other employees are wearing T-shirts and breezy fabrics, I’m wearing a long-sleeve shirt and jeans. I’m sweating.

Rhonda introduces me to Edwin Ellis. Edwin, a six-year veteran of MBS, is constructing the boxes used for shipping. They go on for miles. The massive amount of cardboard absorbs any remaining moisture in the air. The regular workers are armed with lip balm and lotion. I hit the water cooler every chance I get.

At the pods, book collections are broken down into their individual orders. I take a stack of invoices and locate the corresponding books.
The last step, verifying the order, requires scanning the bar codes on the invoices, the books and the station computer. The books are then loaded into a box and dropped onto the conveyor belt, where they are whisked away to James Shoemake and his crew in shipping.

As I’m processing orders, a red flag appears on the screen. It’s too late. I’ve dropped the box onto the conveyor belt, and it is speeding away. I’m tempted to jump on in pursuit. Lucky for me, Rhonda steps in to help. “No problem,” she says. “The computer just didn’t register your last scan.” I scan the code again, and all is well.

I ask how often the line gets held up. Lisa James recounts the time a shoplifter from the nearby Wal-Mart ran into the warehouse for cover, pursued by police. “That held up the line briefly,” she says.

As the afternoon progresses, we’re joined by Mandy Boelter and Matt Underwood, both students and part-time employees. Besides convenient hours and generous benefits packages, MBS employees receive free textbooks for themselves and members of their immediate families.

Mandy, a nursing student, started in receiving. On her fifth day of work, she was sorting through a box of returns and discovered an envelope containing $840. Unable to track down the owner, MBS allowed her to keep the money. That’s what I call a great five-day bonus!

At the end of the day, I’m worn out from the fast pace and more than a little overcome by my curiosity. Several times I’ve been tempted to thumb through the more interesting titles. Rhonda recommends that MBS hire me permanently; I’m pretty fast on the line.

Truth be told, I know that eventually they would fire me after finding me sitting on one of the library floors quietly poring over a stack of books.