3
Yellow brick road from Kansas to Oregon
STORY BY KYLER FLEMING
NEW BOOKSTORE HEAD SUE ZIPPERER BRINGS EXPERIENCE TO CCC
STAFF WRITER
Sue Zipperer is the new Clackamas Community
College bookstore manager, Zipperer came to CCC
from the University of Kansas and was previously
the Store Manager of a Barnes & Noble in Portland.
The Clackamas Print:
What’s your background?
Sue Zipperer:
I come from about 27 years in managing [retail]
Barnes & Noble stores. Yeah, so, books, coffee — fun
stuff. Most recently, five and a half years I spent as
the director of the University of Kansas bookstore so
I had eight stores there. N ow l’m back in Oregon and
I’m really excited to be here.
TCP:
How did you find out about CCC?
Zipperer:
Actually, I’d been looking to come back to Portlands
because I used to manage the Jarttzen Beach Barnes
& Noble, the Lloyd Center and the Vancouver Barnes
& Noble. If you7ve ever lived in Kansas you wouldn’t
question why I wanted to come back.
TCP:
In your short few weeks here, what are your first
impressions of CCC?
Zipperer:
I’ve been so impressed with this place it’s funny.
I love the- energy of working with students [and]
everybody’s so excited hero. People seem really
interested in what they’re doing and like they’ve
got a purpose. I’ve also really been impressed with
all the art in the buildings. I didn’t expect that at a
community college.
TCP:
Do you have any goals set for your time at CCC?
Zipperer:
My main goal is to find ways to find affordable course
materials for the students, but not just affordable
ones, ones that you’re going to use because there’s
a difference between just having something; that’s
inexpensive and something that you’re really-going
to use because you’ve probably all taken classes
where the book is required and you barely use it.
Yeah, so just working with everyone on campus to try
and find ways to make sure that we’re playing a role
Clackamas Print
to help me get you [students] all the tools that you
need to be successful.
TCP:
What should students know about the bookstore?
Zipperer:
Come see us, come talk to us, let us know what
you want. I know that we try to be flexible to meet
changing needs, like when we started opening at
[730 a.m .] to provide food and stuff when it was
needed.
TCP:
What differences are there between working at a
university versus a community college?
who loves books because it’s always the next one.
I’m such a dork. My current one, I’d have to say I like
Patrick Rothfuss “ Name of the Wind.” I know that’s
one that’s recommended in one of your classes, but I
loved it. It takes like 100 pages to really get hooked. I
waited until the second book was coming out because
I’m a book snob and [I was telling customers] like,
“ You,gotta read this. ” Then the hype was coming out
for the second one, so I started reading the first one
and then I went from that into the -second one and
it’ s the only time in my life I was ever late to work,
because I was reading a book and I couldn’t stop. But
I love that book.
Photo by Jo rd y Villagom ez
Zipperer:
There are so many different models for campus
stores. You’ve got independent stores, you’ve got
the large universities, you’ve got little stores like
this one is right now. You’ve got so many different
models and we’re all trying for the same thing.
How do we get the materials? How do we get them
in a timely manner? How do we get the right ones
and get them in your [students’] hands so that you
can use them? And I think the biggest thing that,
I’ve seen coming here is the commitment to optical
character recognition (OCR) and digital access. I’d
say percentage-wise it’ s a lot higher than it was at
University of Kansas.
TCP:
So w hat started your passion for books?
Zipperer:
Growing up in a book-loving family. I mean, that’ s
where it all starts doesn’t it? I grew up haunting
bookstores — that sounds creepy. It’ s just always
been a passion of mine. You know that the thing I
love about this industry is that, it’s that combined
with helping people prepare for their future, and
discover who they are and what they want to be
doing in the world — what’s right for them, so it’s
that marriage. When I was in college I wanted to be
doing this. It was weird.
TCP:
What’s your all-tim e favorite book?
Sue Zipperer shows off the inventory at the Oregon
City campus bookstore.
Zipperer:
That’ s like, an impossible question to ask somebody
This interview has been edited fo r clarity and space.
theclackamasprint.com
January 29,2020