Employees of the University Bookstore at Texas State suspect a change in management this year that could impact prices.
In an attempt to lower prices on textbooks and other supplies for students, the university is looking into bidding out the bookstore to a larger company with more experience in managing university bookstores.
John Root, director of auxiliary services, said the company in management will not own the space, but rather work on Texas State’s behalf in managing the store.
“The main thing we’re looking for here is that we get a company that can provide the students with the most affordable textbook prices,” Root said.
According to Root, the goal of letting another company manage the store is to have better deals on buying supplies or shipping fees. As the majority of these companies have hundreds of stores under their management, merchandising companies are more likely to give discounted prices on bulk buys, such as textbooks or apparel items. Root also states that as of Jan. 8 the bookstore is available to bid on by these larger companies and will end Feb.19.
Through this process of bidding, Texas State’s committee reviewing team for this project will determine whether or not it wants to proceed with the new management, depending on what the bids look like and what benefits come with the companies.
If the university decides to choose a company to manage the bookstore, the companies who have made a bid will then go to a review committee around Spring Break time, where it will then be decided which company will be awarded the position of managing. After an awardee is chosen to manage the store, the award proposal must then be sent to the Board of Regents where the proposal will be considered for approval May 18-19.
Lauren Williams, assistant manager of the bookstore, said that if all goes as planned, whoever is chosen to manage the bookstore will have complete control in managing by Nov. 2018.
Following the control in management after Nov. 2018 will be a renovation of the store which could entail new flooring and shelving. The company will not be moving any supplies out of the store, but it may be organizing the products in a different fashion than what is currently present. However, renovations won’t happen until an extended break period occurs, which may be spring break of 2019 or the following summer.
“All of these things will continue kind-of-almost invisible to the students,” Root said. “It won’t look any different to them. Their books are still going to be on the shelves.”
Moreover, the employees have not been officially briefed on the situation, as managers are still discussing the process in which this is going to take place, and many have stated that they know little to nothing about whether or not they will be able to keep their jobs.
As for staff changes, it is more than likely that the current employees of the bookstore will remain in their positions due to a specific request put on the bidding sheet by the university. However, the company in who will potentially be in charge of managing is free to hire whomever they like.
Max Gamble, general studies senior and bookstore employee, said this change could bring in more jurisdiction over the textbook floor than it currently has.
“It could possibly be more efficient for us directly because right now we don’t have a manager for… the textbook floor,” Gamble said.
During this process, if the university or any other committees decide they do not want to be outsourced by another company, the changes will not take place. A final decision will be reached by the Board of Regents during their meetings from May 24-25.