Listen Here
By: Grant Goetcheus
Twitter: @goetcheusg
Email: goetcheusg@findlay.edu
The University of Findlay added a new building last academic year and with it came some new features one of them being the relocation of the bookstore. Previously the bookstore had been right off of N. Main street.
The bookstore is now called the Ruscilli Family Bookstore and is more functional and attractive than the previous one. The Ruscilli Family Bookstore is a combination of the old bookstore and the Oilermart from the Alumni Memorial Union (AMU).
The change has not been without its challenges. Jay Canterbury, University Stores Manager, explains that it is hard to make changes.
“We are still trying to get more of the Findlay community to realize that we’ve moved,” explained Canterbury. “That was the one drawback of relocating to the central part of campus, we are a bit harder to find being off Main Street, than we were before.”
The Oilermart moving out of the AMU has given the university some new space to play with. Currently, the plan is to create more seating in this room and allow it to be used as a meeting place for on campus clubs and organizations. In addition to these changes, the university is updating the multipurpose room to create more private meeting space and improve the overall look of the AMU.
“Combining the stores was done for two reasons,” said Canterbury. “First, it allows us to be more efficient in the sense that manpower is reduced, and it has helped resolve some inventory issues. Secondly, we felt that with the new Center for Student Life, there wouldn’t be the daily traffic moving through the AMU anymore to support the Oiler Mart.”
Even with these challenges, Canterbury said that business is steady and that students and community are liking the new store. He believes that it is a step up from the old location and the new location has set it up more like any other college bookstore would be set up.
The old bookstore is vacant and will be for the foreseeable future, according to Katherine Fell, President of the University of Findlay.
“What we’re planning is once we have the next draft of our master plan sort of set, we’re gonna have some vacant buildings and that will be one of them,” says Fell. “We’re gonna send out a request for proposals to faculty and staff to give us their best ideas for using those spaces. And then, as an administration, we’ll decide the most strategic uses, because there are a lot of good ideas out there.”
