Commuter

Issue date: 10/13/06 Section: News

The remodeled bookstore on the Main campus now offers fresh coffee and bagels.

The NCC bookstore was once a mass of labeled stacks and long student lines. But after a summerlong, $90,000 overhaul, it's back. Gone are the narrow aisles.

Gone are the cold old color schemes and merchandise racks placed haphazardly about the floor. Gone, too, are the long lines.

"We're all still getting used to it," said manager Melissa Hiller of the still-present lines at the semester's beginning. "I think there was a little confusion for students who were used to the old way. It was just a matter of getting acclimated."

Now that things have settled down, even freshmen can stop and appreciate the true bookstore atmosphere. Plenty of open space, fresh paint in browns and tans and the aroma of fresh coffee add to the ambiance.

"[The administration] wanted it to look like a bookstore. There hadn't been any changes in a long, long time," Hiller said.

"The goal was to make the store more comfortable, to allow the students to gather their own books, and to change the perception of what the NCC bookstore really is. "It isn't just a place to get books," Hiller said.

"It's some place to get a gift, to stop by in the morning and get some coffee or bagels for breakfast. We are offering more in general merchandise and expanding the clothing line soon.

"It should be a destination instead of a necessity," she said.

NCC President Arthur Scott echoed her sentiments, "The old bookstore wasn't laid-out well and we weren't making maximum use of the space. We'd heard among students and faculty it was important to go get their book off the shelf. Most collegiate bookstores are self-serve."

Scott said it was not an attractive space, but the cost of finding a new location was prohibitive so the existing space was renovated.

"We hope this generates more business and that people feel more comfortable shopping there - That it has a true collegiate bookstore feel. The whole bookstore business has changed with Barnes and Noble and Borders, so we've tried to create some of that."

The bookstore is an important place on many campuses Scott said. "You sell college material, with the college logo, and you want students to be proud of their bookstore, especially at a commuter campus like Northampton. We needed to find ways to keep the students here and feel good about the place so they wouldn't just get out of class and go home."

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