Longwood University’s Barnes and Noble bookstore completed its move to its new location at 200 South Main Street. The first day of business was on Oct. 30 with a grand opening event planned for Nov. 17, according to Store Manager Amber Clark.
The store took about a month to move, according to Clark.
“We spent the last week of Sept. through that day in the transition process,” Clark said. “It was about forty people (helping).”
Relocating the bookstore is part of the Master Plan, according to Louise Waller, executive director of campus planning and construction.
Waller told The Rotunda in Oct. 2016 one of the plan's goals is to “increase foot traffic and integration with the downtown Farmville area.”
The bookstore rents out the space from Walk2Campus, who owns the building, according to Clark.
“We, Barnes and Noble College worked with Walk2Campus, Longwood’s Real Estate Foundation and Longwood University to finish this project,” Clark said. “So there’s four large entities involved. Anytime you have that many people involved, it can be a protracted process. Thankfully, everyone worked really well together.”
The building was renovated by Walk2Campus with involvement from the Department of Historical Restorations (DHR), which presented initial planning challenges, according to Clark.
“Any time you have DHR involved there are certain things you can or cannot do with the space and that of course is going to affect a retail location,” Clark said. “So that presented some challenges as far as where we could put certain equipment and what kind of cosmetic changes.”
According to Clark, Longwood chose the location to incorporate itself further into the community.
“They want the community to feel like they love Longwood and show the community that Longwood loves them,” said Clark.
Clark stated the store will help bring business into the community.
“I think they (Longwood) does recognize the impact the name brand, Barnes and Noble, can have on a community because the name brand is one of the most trusted names in the country per Forbes magazine,” Clark said.
Clark also said the new location should increase business for the bookstore.
“In the (Midtown) Landings, I think a lot of people didn’t know there was a Barnes and Noble in town, it was kind of off the beaten path,” Clark said. “Right here in the corner, like I said, very trusted retail brand on the corner of main street, I think we’ll see a lot of community and out of town traffic that we didn’t see before.”
According to Clark, one of the initial concerns of the new location was it’s distance.
“Some people were a little concerned about the walking distance for students, but I can attest that it’s really not any different…I really don’t think it’s going to put that much stress or strain on the student body,” said Clark. “We’ll be able to continue to serve them at the capacity, hopefully a greater capacity, and increase our service to community members.”
The only pending concern Clark stated is long lines being exacerbated by the new layout of the bookstore at the end of the semester.
“The one thing I’m worried about in this location is lines in the beginning and the end of the semester,” Clark said. “We get about 80 percent of what we rented back on the last day to turn it in, which is always the Friday of finals (week). My word of plea and suggestion to students to speed up that process is if you’re done with your book, bring it in.”
Additionally, the bookstore has an incentive program in the form of a donation to FACES, Farmville’s local food pantry, in the student's name if textbooks are turned in by a certain date. The goal of the bookstore is to reach $500 worth of donations in student’s name, according to Clark.
“We’ve never hit that goal, we’d love to hit that goal this year,” said Clark.
