University Bookstore expands, remodels
By Chris Hazen
Of the Emerald
Beginning fall term, University students will enjoy
a larger, better organized University Bookstore that is
“changing with the times,” according to general
manager Jim Williams.
This year’s remodeling and reorganization is the
long-overdue solution to improving the quality of the
bookstore, including a clear need for more space, accor
ding to Williams.
“It came to the point that whenever we added a
new product we had to drop another,” Williams ex
plains. “We evaluated our needs and set about solving
our needs.”
Besides having an additional 3,000 square feet of
space, the “new” bookstore will combine school sup
plies with art and architecture supplies, have more
complete departments overall, and feature an expanded
electronics department, which will include computers
and a stereo listening room.
New programs that were made possible by the
alteration include "Cash Only” lines, year-round
textbook buy-back, and a permanent place to take
buyback- books and refund requests.
As part of a plan to simplify the adminstrative pro
cess, all offices are being moved to the back of the third
floor.
Faced with the hectic environment of the peak buy
ing periods of recent years, Williams would now like to
make it as convenient as possible for customers to buy
books during the most crowded times. Signs and ban
ners around the store should help make it easier to find
things.
“I feel really good about what’s happening here,”
says Stacy Miller, a buyer for the bookstore. "There
will be a better selection and it will be better
organized.”
Williams proposed the remodeling plans to the
board of directors in December of last year. In his pro
posal, he set down two initial goals: more retail space
and more effective use of retail space. But with the in
tention of better serving the needs of the University
community in mind, remodeling offered a vehicle to
improve the store both physically and internally.
Tiie large windows on the east side of the bookstore
are part of a plan to upgrade the overall aesthetic en
vironment, both inside and outside, Williams says.
Photo by Michael Clapp
The inconvenience of construction will give way to a larger, better organized bookstore this fall.
The quarry-tile walkway that now divides the
street-level floor is intended to draw a shopper’s eyes to
the back of the building, thereby showcasing more of
what the bookstore has to offer.
4 ‘The new lobby area is going to be much more in
viting,” says Williams. “It’s going to be very striking,
as far as the appearance of the store goes.”
Since it opened in 1920, in Chapman Hall, the
bookstore has experienced an almost non-stop need for
more space. In 1962, the store was relocated into the
back of its present building. Only three years later, the
comer portion was added, more than doubling the
square footage at the time.
But in the mid 1970s, “the aisles started to get
smaller and smaller,’’ Williams says. “It became very
clear that we need more space. In the late ’70s and early
’80s, it came to crisis proportions.”
Williams sees the remodeled store as an opportuni
ty to take advantage of the bookstore’s strength, diversi
ty of merchandise, and also as “a neat situation where
we are responding to the needs of our customers.”
After three months of construction, the bookstore
should be in full operation by the time school starts.
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