Dear Lynx Community,
Late last week, you received an email about the bookstore formerly operated by Barnes & Noble (B&N) in the Tivoli Student Union. I’m writing to share an update on transition plans and what this means for our students, faculty, staff, and community members who use the bookstore for books and other academic resources.
Bookstore Will Reopen Oct. 2
The bookstore will resume operations on Monday, Oct. 2. It will be called the Tivoli Station Bookstore and will be managed under the new vendor Follett, a leader in higher education bookstores and educational materials. As part of our partnership, and in support of our goal to make education work for all, Follett has committed to providing more variety and more low-cost academic resources that our faculty have requested and that benefit our students. Unlike other bookstore retailers, our agreement doesn’t require a subscription service, which makes our bookstore more tailored to the individual needs of our students.
For the remainder of the fall semester, there will be books, academic resources, and merchandise available in-store. Online merchandise and apparel is available now and during the spring we will be working to provide integration with our systems so that learning resources can be quickly identified and obtained. This will include integration with Canvas and other tools so that faculty can identify books and resources and other free and low-cost alternatives. Students will also be able to access their digital materials directly through Canvas.
We will keep the campus community updated as these integrations are finalized, and we will communicate to faculty when and how to submit their book orders for the spring semester.
Background on Bookstore Transition
Last spring, we learned that B&N decided to discontinue its contract with the Auraria Campus and planned to close its physical bookstore operations this October. We used this opportunity to gather data and community feedback to help determine how we can better serve our students in offering the educational materials they need while ensuring our faculty have the flexibility to offer the books, supplemental course materials, and open educational resources (OER) to support their classes. Cost, purchase and rental options, overall convenience, and ease of payment were forefront in our decision making.
AHEC, MSU, CCD, and CU Denver selected the vendor Follett because of its strong track record of success in higher education, its commitment to low-cost resources for students and faculty, and its focus on customer service. The bookstore will serve the three higher education institutions on the Auraria Campus.
In closing
While the fall semester will be a transition period, this shift will result in a fully functioning in-person and online bookstore. Our students, whose academic books are critical to their success, and our faculty, whose work is facilitated by teaching and learning materials, are our top priority in this transition.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we transition to a more seamless and effective bookstore model.
Chris Puckett
Managing Associate University Counsel & Project Manager for the Bookstore Transition