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Â鶹´«Ã½ will be opening its first fully owned and operated bookstore this fall. The Â鶹´«Ã½ Campus Store will stay in its current location – Energy Resource Centre (ERC), Room 1058. The university will operate the store using a traditional model for the first year while it explores exciting partnerships to enhance our delivery model. 

To ensure its success, the Campus Store needs your support. Please encourage students and employees to use this service. It is only through larger economies of scale that we will be able to keep this store open. Some initiatives we are currently working on:

• An employee-only service to provide your everyday consumable office supplies cheaper than external third-party providers. A member of the Ancillary Services team will be in touch with the administrator(s) in each department and faculty to consult on frequently purchased items, pricing and new ideas to build this service in a way that works for you.
• Price-matching policies to ensure we stay competitive and give students the highest level of service and support from our team. 
• Reaching out to faculty contacts to learn how we can better serve instructors and their students. We need help from all faculty to ensure we receive their book lists and that they refer their students to our store. We know some instructors will send students directly to the publisher which would be OK if all books could be purchased that way. As that is not currently possible, we need to maximize our customer traffic. 
• Planning further consultations with deans on course bundling. This has worked well in Health Sciences as we are able to get all student access to electronic books at a meaningful discount. 
• Additional programs are currently in development to offer special employee-pricing events on branded merchandise. Stay tuned for more information on this and other projects we have on the go.

To ensure a smooth transition, we are following a phased approach:

• Spring/Summer 2025: Re-open the physical store at ERC 1058, offer books for the spring semester, and have a retail presence at June convocation with degree frames, graduation bears, and other popular items.
• Fall 2025: Fully operational in-store and e-commerce services.
• Fall 2026: Shift to a technology-enhanced model with extended hours, and scheduled in-person services, especially during the start of the semester. 

As we continue to transition store management, we will provide regular updates on our progress and next steps. The current bookstore officially closed on Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. We anticipate announcing an official reopening date in late March. Several factors will impact the timeline, including the setup of our point-of-sale and inventory management system, availability of display fixtures and inventory, and staff onboarding.

Please feel free to direct any questions to Melissa Price, Director, Ancillary Services, or call 289.928.3106.

Thank you in advance for your engagement and support as we work to build a Campus Store that will enhance the student experience.