After the recent merger with Barnes and Noble, the university bookstore will have a variety of new and innovative ways to make the process of getting textbooks more affordable and feasible to students.

“We want to be students support system,” said Patrick Duff, general manager at the bookstore. “We are working to provide better services and are very involved with helping students have a successful college career.”

Duff comes to Kent with over 30 years of experience with Barnes and Noble College.

“There is a significant difference between Barnes and Noble and Barnes and Noble College Booksellers. You will see general books, textbooks and monthly events going on here in the bookstore,” Duff said.  

About 30 percent of titles students will see in the bookstore can be brought digitally through the Yuzu digital platform.

“I am very excited about this opportunity and with the transition, we get to nationally look at and compare pricing,” Duff said.

Rentals are one of the most cost-efficient ways to buy textbooks, Duff said.

Duff said downloading the Barnes and Noble College app will enable students to save up to 80 percent on textbooks.

Kent State has launched the Faculty Enlight program through Barnes and Noble, which is a tool for professors to easily send the bookstore their booklists. Faculty will be able to look at what books their peers are using and their booklist will be saved to their course file.

“We currently have only 50 percent of the booklist, so we strongly recommend students prepare early and get their books ahead of time,” Duff said.

Coming this spring, registration integration will allow students to quickly see all the books for their classes on one page.

Students will also see a change in the merchandise selection at the bookstore. Under Armour is now the premiere sideline article that students will see at the games.  

“All of our promotion is across Barnes and Noble wide,” said Nicole Dech, the bookstore department manager. “So much is going on at the bookstore now to provide better services for students and we can’t wait to see what is next.”

Students can expect to enter a bookstore with a friendly feel.

“The previous bookstore had more art supplies and stuff while this one has more of a generalized feel,” Collin Alberts, 24, studying environmental and conservation biology, said. “It feels like Barnes and Noble, while it’s retaining most of what the university bookstore is about.”

Contact Brittany Anderson at [email protected].