Dartmouth students no longer have a choice when shopping for textbooks in Hanover. With the Dartmouth Bookstore forced to discontinue textbook sales to undergraduates, Wheelock Books has been expanding its staff to accommodate the resulting increase in business.
Although many have expressed concern about the lack of shopping options, students have generally found Wheelock's accommodations to be adequate in handling the start-of-term textbook rush.
The Dartmouth Bookstore had been considering scaling back its textbook department since last summer. According to General Manager David Cioffi, this decision came in response to a steady decrease in textbook sales over the last several years.
The bookstore began scaling back in the winter, reducing its textbook stock by 60 percent before making its final decision to discontinue all undergraduate textbook sales.
The Dartmouth Bookstore's decision has left Wheelock Books with the burden of meeting the entire College demand for textbooks. To accommodate the increase in volume of both customers and inventory, Wheelock managers have expanded the store, adding shelf space and check-out counters. They have also doubled their temporary staff members, who are hired specifically to meet the increased demand at the beginning of the term.
Wheelock managers have found their preparations to be adequate in dealing with the increased business. In an e-mail to The Dartmouth, owner Whit Spaulding '89, Reader Production Coordinator Kaitlyn Chantry '01 and Manager Katie Lynch '02 said, "Not only did we accommodate the increased volume, but we actually decreased the size or our lines."
Student employee Lauren Foley '03 agrees that demand has been adequately met and attributes the successful transition to strong management.
"The owner has been extremely conscious of the need to increase space and has really done a remarkable job at doing so given the limited amount of time. I cannot compliment [Spaulding and Lynch] enough for the efficient and speedy transition they accomplished over the past month," she said.
For the most part, students have found Wheelock's improvements to be adequate in minimizing lines and general congestion. Many have found the lack of shopping options to be a more significant problem.
Dan Wahl '04 said, "[The change] hasn't really affected me, although I don't like the fact that there is now only one place to buy books."
Arjun Ponnambalam '04 expressed similar concern: "It is nice that all the textbooks are in one location, but the inability to compare prices can be somewhat frustrating."
Some students simply preferred shopping at the Dartmouth Bookstore. Jessica Lyons '03 said, "It hasn't really made a difference to me personally as far as convenience, but I do think it is too bad. [The Dartmouth Bookstore] is a wonderful place and I don't like seeing them struggle."
While she hasn't noticed a considerable change since the winter, Olubunmi Olotu '03 has always been dissatisfied with Wheelock Books' facility: "I think Wheelock Books is as inconvenient as it has always been. The space is just too small." Olotu also said she was concerned about a lack of options in shopping for used books.
Although the transition from two major local textbook retailers to one has been relatively smooth in terms of logistics, students remain wary of their newly limited shopping options.
