BY CHARLY HALEY
haleych@mnstate.edu
Returning students have probably noticed something different in MacLean.
A few things are different actually. Along with the ARO and Cafe Connection, the Bookstore has been renovated. The store reopened on Aug. 8.
The plans
MSUM staff had been looking at renovating the Bookstore for the past six years, said Kim Samson, bookstore supervisor.
“If you’re in retail these days, renovation needs to be part of your long-term plans,” Samson said.
The store was in need of an update, Samson said. Some of the fixtures were over 20 years old and breaking, floor was cracking, Formica was chipping and some shelves were becoming unstable.
“Maybe to the naked eye of the consumer the store looked fine, but there were a lot of things that were breaking down,” Samson said.
After some talk of potentially moving the Bookstore to the CMU, renovation plans came into place last fall. Samson received the plans for renovating the Bookstore’s lower level in October, and plans for the upper level arrived in November.
The store was designed by Kim Walters of College Store Design in Lincoln, Neb. It’s one of many stores she designed with a concept she calls “the store of the future” in mind.
“It’s not just textbooks anymore,” Walters said, “it’s become a fun place to shop.”
Other universities that Walters has worked with that have similar bookstore designs include South Dakota State University, North Georgia College and State University and Clayton State University in Georgia.
The product
Walters strived for an updated and modern look, she said. She based her color pallet on MSUM’s school colors, while designing so the decor didn’t distract from the Bookstore’s merchandise.
Samson was pleased to see school colors incorporated into the design.
“We are the Dragons,” she said. “We have reds, blacks, grays and whites for our main color scheme.”
The bookstore is also designed for potentially incorporating additional services, such as making Dragon IDs, selling parking permits or selling tickets to MSUM events.
“I think some people on campus were interested in doing that even for fall, but we just couldn’t handle it with the remodel,” Samson said. “We may be doing some experimental things in this next spring.”
The Bookstore may not be able to provide those additional services in during the school-year, but Samson said she for sure want to try and offer some other services in the off-season.
The $875,000 renovation has also made the Bookstore more efficient, Samson said. The new entrances provide for less congestion of customers, and the new cashier block is designed for faster service, as opposed to the previous design with three lines.
The Bookstore’s is also designed to better serve non-students and potential students, Samson said, because the front of the store is more open.
“People see that we’re a nice store. They’ll want to come see us,” Samson said.
“I want our store to be one of the highlights of the campus,” she said, “and I feel it is. When people come in and do their visits of the campus, hopefully they want to come in and buy something that represents this place.”
The purpose
Samson has heard many positive comments from students, regarding the Bookstore.
“I’m happy about that, because it’s really the students’ base. We just work here to provide the service to the students,” she said.
When Samson hears conversation in the Bookstore, she feels the store is serving its purpose.
“That makes me feel like we’re doing the right thing, because our store is comfortable that people want to hang out in,” she said.