The JCCC bookstore added 5,000 square feet to its warehouse this fall. The addition provides much needed warehouse space on the southwest corner of the Student Center that will double the number of buyback and reservation pickup windows and create a flexible public-use space with seating and WiFi accessibility.

The eight buyback windows and seating area will also be available for Student Services use, such as enrollment and financial aid overflow, or for other special college programming needs, according to Chris Worthington, bookstore manager. The convertible public space also adds another study space for students in the Student Center.

Designed by PGAV Architects, the warehouse will have an exterior of campus-standard brick and a glass-and-brick architectural accent at the public-use area. Cost of the bookstore warehouse was approximately $2 million, funded by the Postsecondary Education Institution loan fund from the state of Kansas.

Worthington says that the days of the traditional bookstore are over, given the array of online sales, order reservations, ebooks, textbook rentals, computer hardware and software sales and services now available.

Three years ago, the bookstore filled 200 online orders, either to be picked up at the bookstore or shipped to students. By fall 2009, online orders increased to more than 2,000. While online reservations helped ease congestion on the sales floor during the traditional back-to-school rush (when it’s not unusual to process 30,000 transactions), it added to the warehouse congestion as the bookstore processed higher volumes of inbound and outbound freight and other product traffic. In addition to providing the main JCCC campus needs, the bookstore also handles the ordering, receiving and redistribution of all College Now course materials to participating high schools and provides related services to the college’s satellite locations.

With technology now intertwined with course materials, consumer technology has been a rapid growth area and another rationale for the new warehouse. The computer department has moved from a small corner with limited software selections to a highly visible storefront location with expanded software, hardware and related accessories. The bookstore’s technology center is one of only a few community colleges fully certified as an Apple sales and service center;  Dell, HP and other PC brands will be added to their mix. The new warehouse will provide additional secure technology storage and the opportunity for an interior store modification that creates a clean, secure technology service space adjacent to the expanded technology sales area.

Other innovations for the bookstore include a textbook rental trial and expanding ebook program, recycling and sustainability efforts, and collaboration with the Billington Library to provide textbooks on reserve.