[Web4lib] If it sounds like a library, it might be...

[Leslie Johnston]

This outsourcing has been taking place for some time.  In 1999 when I
was working at Stanford they outsourced their bookstore operations to
Follett.  That same year I went to work at Harvard, where the Coop
bookstore (but not the Coop overall) was already outsourced to Barnes
and Noble.  Both operated hundreds of university bookstores even then. 
At Stanford we were more concerned about our colleagues at the bookstore
potentially losing their jobs — they thankfully retained all but a
handful in management positions.  Students went there for textbooks and
coffee before the switch, and continued to do so afterwards.

I have no idea what a "collegiate superstore" might be.

Leslie

>>> "Bill Hudson" <bhudson at lancasterlibraries.org> 10/8/2008 9:46 AM
>>>
This from a press release from Rutgers-New Brunswick, they are
outsourcing
their university bookstore to B&N:
 
"In addition to the new and enhanced services and programs Barnes &
Noble
will bring to the university bookstores, the superstore will be a
destination in itself. It will be a place for readings by renowned
authors
who can just hop off the train from New York or Philadelphia. It will
be a
comfortable gathering place and a stimulating venue for special events.
The
superstore at The Gateway will serve as a dynamic bridge between
Rutgers and
the residents of New Brunswick."

"We are thrilled to have formed this partnership with Rutgers," said
Max J.
Roberts, president of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. "Working
with
Rutgers, we'll create a best in class collegiate superstore that will
become
a knowledge and cultural hub for the university and the New Brunswick
communities."

Draw your own conclusions. For me, it just means the competition for
"hearts
and mind's" (and tax dollars) just got a bit tougher.
BH
 
****************************************************************************
*
Bill Hudson
Deputy Administrator/Manager, Information Technology
1866 Colonial Village Lane, Ste. 107
Lancaster, PA  17601
717-207-0500 ext. 1269
http://www.lancasterlibraries.org <http://www.lancasterlibraries.org/>

AIM: billhudson2008
 
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