King's co-op keeps its books in check

Bookstore finding ways to thrive

Manager Caroyln Gillis and a Jane Austen doll in the King's bookstore. (Photo: Katie Rankin)

The University of King's College co-op bookstore started out as a student service, said president of the board Adrian Lee, but it still has to survive as a business.

It can't be there for students if it doesn't exist, he said.

The bookstore is taking steps to survive by investing in advertising, promoting itself at off-campus events and attracting customers who aren't students.

Lee, a fourth-year journalism student, said, "It has been touch and go for a little bit."

The co-op is the first and only bookstore on the King's campus and was started in 2006 as a way for students to have control over the business.

Lee hopes students on the board will take on this responsibility. "I'm graduating and I do want to have a clear path for the bookstore," he said.

Not long ago the board was "ambling along a little blindly," said Lee.

This was partly because their former accountant took too long calculating the finances, he said. It was difficult for the board to know where the bookstore stood financially.

Carolyn Gillis is the day-to-day manager of the store, but the student-run board oversees finances and operations. Understanding each other's roles will help the bookstore, he said.

Building a business

One of the biggest challenges is attracting non-student customers to browse the selection of fiction, historical-figures finger puppets and King's merchandise, said Gillis.

"We're still trying to work on that," she said. The store holds author events and sells books at off-site events.

Stephanie Duchom, vice-president of the board and third-year European studies major, agrees. It's not easy to get people to come shop when it's in a basement at a school, she said.

Last year the store spent approximately $5,000 on advertising, including a new logo and website. The board hopes this investment will pay off.

Over the summer the bookstore invested in new cabinet space to store books. Books that didn't fit in the store were previously held in a storage space off campus.

The cost of construction will eventually save more compared to rental costs for the space, said Lee. Rental fees cost the store $1,722 in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Competition for student customers

People at the bookstore are aware that students have options when it comes to buying required readings for courses.

Amazon offers many of the same texts for a cheaper price. Gillis said there's not much an independent bookstore can do to compete.

"We're not even playing the same game, let alone the same field," she said.

Gillis said there are things huge corporations can't offer. "There's no bricks and mortars for Amazon," she said. Customers don't get to go in and talk to real people and have a conversation about books.

E-books are beginning to compete with books. "The industry right now is in flux," said Gillis.

Publishers won't supply the small bookstore with e-books, said Gillis, so physical books at King's are safe for now.

This year all the readings for a contemporary studies program were online. Out of the 75 students in the class a "fairly high percentage" of the students came to the bookstore to order the actual book, said Gillis.

She is confident in the power of the book. "I don't think we're going to lose the physical book right now," she said. "There's a different experience reading a book."

A special general meeting for the bookstore was held Wednesday night to approve the 2009-2010 financial statements.

The five members of the co-op in attendance unanimously approved it, finding no issues with the finances.

Lee is happy with the progress the bookstore has made in six years. "We have established ourselves at King's and as long as we do that I think we're going to be just fine."

Comments on this story are now closed