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More than 80 community members attended the grand opening celebration of the bookstore at ������ at Ashtabula on Aug. 15. Guests were invited to tour the newly renovated building, which boasts 14,000 square feet and houses not only the new bookstore, but the campus business office and maintenance department.

Mirroring the facade of the Robert S. Morrison Health and Science Building, this $1.2 million renovation of the former technology building creates a true retail destination on campus. Students can mingle in the coffeehouse-like atmosphere and enjoy shopping the expanded selection of ������ merchandise. The renovation, paid for with campus funds, also provided 113 additional spaces for student parking.

“This is the next step in transforming our campus,” says Susan Stocker, dean and chief administrative officer for Kent State Ashtabula. “We’d get long lines of students at the old location, but our new bookstore will alleviate this. And the old location in Main Hall is now open to be redesigned as a one-stop-shop for student services.”

Bookstore Manager Kathy Madison says, “This is a beautiful new facility, and I couldn’t be more pleased with our move to this new location. The lounge and coffee service areas are really inviting and add to a space that will welcome the whole community.”

The plan to merge the bookstore, business office and maintenance department into the newly renovated facility was practical since the bookstore is a depot for UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service. More than 5,000 packages come through the store on an annual basis, so it made sense to move the business office and maintenance operations into the same location. 

“From the stand point of shipping and receiving, merging the departments into the same building allows for a seamless flow of purchase orders and paperwork and ultimately the distribution of incoming freight,” says Dave Schultz, business services administrator.

The bookstore is open for business from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday and Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday; and 9 a.m. to noon, Friday.