Royal Purple

Issue date: 9/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Alison Wisneski The bookstore was remodeled for shoppers to have more space and a better organization of merchandise.

Media Credit: Alison Wisneski Freshman Jami Anderson rents books from sophomore Allison Sill Monday at Textbook Rental.

Many students were surprised when they walked into the main entrance of the new and improved University Bookstore that opened in June.

Graduate student Blake Sollenberger was so taken aback when he walked in for the first time since renovation; he said he questioned whether he was in the right place.

"It looks a lot more inviting," he said.

The $2.66 million dollar upgrade was started in February of this year and was meant to give the bookstore structural updates as well as cosmetic changes, said Terri Meinel, University Bookstore Director.

"This used to be a dining hall so we kind of modified the space so we could work with it," she said. "Then we got a clean slate, the only walls we didn't knock out were support walls."

Among changes made were carpeting, an elevator for disabled students instead of the freight elevator that was in the back of the old bookstore, a single entrance, ventilation and a larger, more prominent customer service area.

Other problems that needed repair included a leaking roof, leftover and unused freezers when the building was still a dining hall, and gaps between doors that would let in mice.

Even with all the updates, Meinel said the bookstore still has about the same amount of space.

"It's deceiving," she said. "It definitely looks much bigger, but it's not."

MacKenzie Shimek, a sales representative at the bookstore said that may be because the space has become much more organized.

"I think [customers] like it a lot more because it's more convenient," she said. "The layout is really different because it's divided into sections instead of thrown around and all the books are basically in one area now."

Freshman Keightlyn Prut attested that it was much easier for her to navigate her way through the store then when she saw it before enrolling at UW-Whitewater.

"It's so much easier for me to find everything," Prut said. "The first time I was here, it was just harder to find certain books."

Meinel said architects had originally come up with three floor plans to convert the aged dining hall into a more functional bookstore, and she was able to help chose one "and just go with it."

"We decided when the architects came in how we would like to do our business if we didn't have the restrictions that we had with the previous layout," Meinel said. "We wanted a layout that would accommodate shoppers and I think we got that."

Meinel said so far she has heard very positive feedback from customers and visitors.

"People have been amazed at the transformation so it's really exciting to see the enthusiasm of our customers," she said. "It's such a radical difference from what it was and people didn't have a chance to see it progress like we did so to them it's very radical."

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