Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

Earlier this fall, Kate Weinand with the University of Mary Bookstore came to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the MBS Systems Training Fall Forums event. Over the course of a few days, attendees are able to network with individuals from other stores and learn more about the capabilities of their MBS system. We sat down with Ms. Weinand to hear more about the University of Mary Bookstore and its new location. 

University stores are demonized on many campuses: “The bookstore is only out for profit,” faculty and students say. At Bloomsburg University Bookstore, nothing could be further from the truth. Manager Laura Heger stays enmeshed in student life, working actively to build the store’s reputation as a campus service through dialogue with customers.  

Some call it inclusive access, others all-inclusive. At Towson University, the program that builds textbook charges into course fees is called direct access. Whatever name you choose, there’s no doubt that University Store Director Stacy Elofir’s decision to use the model has been a boon for the retailer, the students and the school.  

Oklahoma State University Store Assistant Director of Course Content Delivery, Starla Marshall, has worked in the college retail industry over 27 years. We visited the student-union housed Stillwater store — which serves the 26,000-plus students on OK State's main campus — for two days during 2017 fall rush to gain hands-on experience with textbook veterans. Marshall took time early one morning to talk to us about everything from industry changes to recruiting challenges and shelving course materials by author.

Oklahoma State University Store Assistant Director of Course Content Delivery, Starla Marshall, said that in her 27 years as a college store professional the course materials industry has changed radically — and that brings greater complexity to the business.

University of New Mexico Bookstore Director Carrie Mitchell jokes that sometimes she thinks her state is a little behind the curve of textbook trends. When sales started to stagnate and decline for stores nationwide five or six years ago, as students flocked toward perceived better deals online, the UNM Bookstore remained steady.

If there’s one thing UCM University Store Director Charlie Rutt knows it’s that families new to the course materials world need guidance. Many students start school without awareness of the cost of textbooks. Rutt said that, unless families are warned, they will feel deceived when they discover how much they have to spend at the college store. It’s like being invited to a free dinner only to find out you have to pay when the check comes.

The Community College of Rhode Island has four bookstore locations that make servicing students their number one priority. Using their years of expertise they field questions about all aspects of college life. Throughout the day staff members are helping students understand how to use their financial aid in the store or showing a student how to find their way through the campus.  Like many college stores, they are more than a bookstore — they are the heartbeat of the campus.

In an effort to drive more traffic into their store and away from online retailers during rush, the staff at UC Davis Stores was struggling to come up with ideas that would meet those goals. Last year, they tried giving away t-shirts to entice students to come visit the store, which worked in the sense that that event was popular, but ultimately came up short of expectations when the store underestimated its audience and ran out of shirts in about 10 minutes. Back to the drawing board.

For many college stores, summer means a slower pace and less foot traffic. Though it can be tough to come up with new ways to make your store stand out,  knowing what other stores have tried can be a big time-saver. That was the case for Director of Campus Stores Margo Ketels of the University of Dubuque's Babka Bookstore, who found inspiration right here on Foreword Online.