University Bookstore Opens Monday; Majority of Fall Textbooks on Shelves, Discounts on Books to be Offered

University Bookstore Director John Parry will mark the one-month anniversary Monday of the Flood of ’97 with a significant milestone: opening a temporary bookstore stocked with 80-90 percent of fall textbooks, and all available at a discount.

The temporary bookstore, housed in a 3,500 square-foot area in the new east addition of the Lory Student Center, opens for business 7:30 a.m. Monday. Hours will be 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The upper level of the bookstore, which sells promotional CSU merchandise and school supplies, is open to the public from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Friday. Hours for the upper level of the bookstore will be the same as the textbook area beginning Monday.

The July 28 flood destroyed the University Bookstore’s entire inventory for fall semester, totaling 3,500 book titles and nearly 300,000 textbooks. The day after the flood, bookstore staff began placing emergency re-orders of fall textbooks and worked tirelessly to build and stock a temporary bookstore in time for fall semester classes, which begin on Monday.

"We’ve essentially done 10-12 weeks’ of work in two weeks so we could get the textbooks and supplies the students at Colorado State need to begin the semester," Parry said. "It’s phenomenal to see what the bookstore staff has accomplished in such a short amount of time to provide a high level of service to our customers."

To assure that most book titles were available to students on the first day of classes, all new books had to be ordered. Because the floods destroyed the bookstore’s entire inventory of used textbooks, students who purchase books at the temporary University Bookstore will receive a seven percent discount.

"The decision we faced was either to go with all new books and have most titles available or try to track down used books and have much fewer titles for students when they started the semester. To locate used books just weeks before the fall semester would not have been possible," Parry said. "We realize that new books cost more than used ones, so the discount will help offset that increased cost."

Because of limited space in the temporary bookstore, book purchases will be made with the assistance of book staff rather than the self-serve system typically used during book rush. Students will be required to present their class schedule to bookstore personnel, who will retrieve the books they need from the available inventory. Cash, check and credit card purchases will be accepted.

"We don’t think students will have to wait in line any longer than they normally do during book rush. In fact, this may be a system that students like better because they won’t have to search the shelves themselves," Parry said.

To pass the time waiting in line at the bookstore, a number of activities are planned, including entertainment and prize giveaways. In addition, the bookstore will hold a raffle for 10 book scholarships. Students who win a book scholarship will be asked to supply a receipt for their textbook purchases to the bookstore for a full refund.