Second floor of Co-op bookstore closed for business

Downtown staple faces uphill struggle to survive after latest setback

The final chapter for the Co-op Bookstore may be written sooner than expected. Financial problems continue to plague the bookstore as a direct result of their large mortgage on their relatively new, six-year old building.

"We knew right when we built it that it was too big of a building," said Allison Gould, president of the Co-op Bookstore. "Essentially, we can't afford our mortgage payment," said Gould, who is also head reference librarian at Mudd Library.

Gould readily admits that a building with a 1.7 million dollar mortgage is considerably larger than the Oberlin book demand merits, but it was built in a manner to protect the architectural integrity of downtown Oberlin. "We didn't want to build a building that was only two stories, or that was half as deep as the rest of downtown. In 1992, when we decided to construct the new building, we projected that sales would increase, but instead, they've leveled."I doubt we can stay in business if we don't rent the extra space."

On-line book buying sites like Amazon.com and chain bookstores like Borders are largely to blame for this leveling, according to Gould. "We now face serious economic competition. It's not just the mall bookstore anymore."

The first attempt to remedy the situation came when the Co-op's board of directors decided to try to market something other than books. "It's not true that if you have more books, you'll sell more books," said Gould. "We thought of adding other departments, like computer hardware, but the startup cost and the expertise necessary were just too great."

The Co-op also attempted to draw in business with its restaurant, the Two Trees Caf�. Unfortunately, the Two Trees never garnered much of a following and proved to be unprofitable.

"Everyone seems to have the perfect idea for what to market in the space, but we've reached a point where we've decided that if it's going to be done, it has to be done by someone else...and soon." Though Gould expresses great concern over the rental of the space, she declines to disclose the size of the financial shortfall. "We're in negotiations right now, so that's sort of confidential."

The College is the prime contender to rent the Co-op's second floor. The art, theater and dance departments, as well as the Conservatory all frequently complain of a lack of available space. College President Nancy Dye said, "That is one way that the College could appropriately aid the Co-op."

This arrangement would prove to be mutually beneficial. Space issues aside, the mere existence of the Co-op frees the College from the task of establishing its own textbook supplier for students, a costly and time consuming task. Suddenly, the rumored $50,000 "bail out" loan from the College to the bookstore in the summer of 1997 seems much more rational. "The loan was actually to cover the cost of textbooks that we'd stocked during the summer months, that wouldn't be purchased until the fall. It was fully repaid, with interest," said Gould.

Even though the Co-op closing its doors is a distinct possibility, Gould and Co-op board members' primary concern is student textbooks. "If we make the decision to close the doors, we'd have to do it in time for the College to find alternate means of supplying students with texts. But we're hoping it won't come to that."

According to Dye, the College would have an alternate plan if the Co-op closed. "The College could arrange, on very short notice, a text book supply. We like having an independent bookstore, though. We want it to thrive," said Dye.