On March 9th, Saint Xavier announced that the campus bookstore would be transitioning to an all-online store as soon as May 2021.
A University released statement said “The decision to move in this direction was made in response to the increasing costs of textbooks and the growing trend of students choosing to purchase their textbooks and course materials from online booksellers. The goal of the online bookstore is to provide a streamlined textbook adoption process for faculty and an enhanced variety and affordable textbook options for students.”
According to Director of Auxiliary Services, Linda Moreno, “Auxiliary Services reached out to form focus groups including Student Government Association, the University Staff and Faculty representing all areas, the University Administration, and Dean of Students. The process takes quite a bit of time as Auxiliary Services collects information from interested companies, considers what these companies have to offer, and finally decides with focus group input which one will make the best fit for our needs. The Follett Contract was an eight-year commitment and concluded at the end of our current semester. The new agreement awarded to Akademos is a shorter three-year commitment that allows SXU to monitor and gauge the success of the change with a shorter commitment time.”
While bookstore employees and staff cannot comment at this time, Moreno explained . “Our current bookstore is operated by an external vendor, Follett. The current employees are Follett employees and will work with their corporation for new placement opportunities within the Follett system.”
The news of this change comes to students and faculty members with mixed emotions. Senior Accounting Student Joseph Petit stated “I think it is an alright idea. I do know that getting books online is becoming more and more popular, but I still do think it is a good option to have a store to get them from since sometimes delivery times can be longer, and you might need a book quicker.”
He added, “I think in the long run [this decision] will be better for the school, probably save them money on labor and with the huge increase in online shopping it will be more liked by most students.”
Senior Communication student Anthony Lopez said “I’m not too affected by the bookstore shift as this is my last semester, but I think a physical bookstore is a key staple for a college campus. If not for the textbooks, at least to be able to stop in and buy SXU merch when you have time. I remember the college bookstores were a big thing for me and my high school classmates whenever we’d visit campuses.”
[Unsure if quote should be added as you hear the same thing before; “The bookstore isn’t just meant to purchase books. I think the reason students are getting books from other online vendors is because the SXU bookstore overcharges most of their textbooks.”]
Professor Brad Mello, Chair of the Department of Communication said “I think it’s just a sign of the times. We are going to have fewer brick and mortar stores and many more online/virtual stores in the future.”
As for how this decision might impact the topic of course reading selection, Mello said, “It won’t impact it at all, really. I try to inform my students of any reading material they will have to purchase way in advance so they can take advantage of multiple booksellers and find the best price, which often isn’t at the campus bookstore.”
Moreno shared , “The current bookstore spirit wear and giftware is currently on sale at 50% off. The new virtual store will have a sneak peek of available items at the end of May, and in July will be offering their full line of custom Cougar Wear and gifts.” This limited-time deal is well-rewarding for SXU students as a new transition to a fully-online bookstore is taking shape.