The Bookstore Review Committee issued a report today that recommends outsourcing the operation of the Brown Bookstore to an external vendor such as Barnes and Noble.
The committee found "considerable potential ... to improve product offerings, service, aesthetics and layout in the store to make it a more comfortable, academic and welcoming destination," according to the report.
The report focuses on two main operating models for the University. First, the University could continue to operate the bookstore independently, funding substantial investments and implementing significant improvements. Second, an external vendor specializing in university bookstores could be contracted to operate the bookstore.
"Contracting with a vendor was preferred by the majority of the committee, as it offers the most potential to provide expertise, resources, systems and capital to upgrade the bookstore, as well as the capacity to stay current with changes in the college merchandise and text- and trade-book markets in the future," according to the report.
Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration and chair of the bookstore committee, told The Herald the report is not a conclusive decision on the future of the bookstore. Members of the committee will meet this month with campus constituencies such as the Faculty Executive Committee, Undergraduate Council of Students, Graduate Student Council and Staff Advisory Committee and hold campus-wide forums to solicit feedback.
The committee will then address concerns raised during the campus vetting process and issue a final recommendation to President Ruth Simmons and her cabinet, which comprises about a dozen top University administrators. Simmons and her cabinet are expected to make a final decision in April or May.
Even though Huidekoper said a more thorough examination of both outsourcing and self-operation is needed before a final decision is made, the report focuses almost entirely on the outsourcing model - management by an external vendor is described in five pages, while only three paragraphs address self-operation.
Associate Professor of English Stephen Foley '74 P'04 P'07, a member of the committee, said that the imbalance can be explained because the committee was weighing a known with an unknown - an extensive body of information concerning the outsourcing model already exists, while the steps to improve the bookstore under University management are less clear.
Huidekoper and Foley both said the self-operating model would receive a more detailed examination.
A key justification for outsourcing the bookstore, according to Huidekoper, is that University administrators are not experts at running a merchandising and retail facility like the bookstore.
Still, the report acknowledges that "contracting with a corporate vendor would likely elicit strong voices in opposition to 'selling out' to a national corporation and ceding Brown's independence. This opposition should not be underestimated."
The report suggests that the president's cabinet "give special consideration to whether the extent of opposition will be strong enough to divide the campus and distract attention from Brown's academic enrichment initiatives."
Two external vendors - Barnes and Noble College Booksellers and Follett Higher Education Group - are mentioned in the report, though the document focuses primarily on Barnes and Noble, going to great lengths to distinguish the privately held university affiliate of the bookselling giant from its publicly traded parent.
Huidekoper stressed that every institution that outsources to a vendor like Barnes and Noble customizes its own contract, and the University could carefully design its agreement to protect the interests of faculty, students and staff.
The financial structure of such a deal is not clear. Huidekoper said no standard arrangement exists, and she stressed that the financial impact is not a primary consideration for the University.
"This is not an issue about money. We're not looking to make more money out of this, and we're not looking to make less money out of this," she said.
The impact of outsourcing on bookstore employees is also not entirely clear, though the report specifies that Barnes and Noble would offer all current employees a job at comparable salary and benefits for a minimum of one year.
"Our employees are a resource," Huidekoper said. "In both models, they have the skills that we want to keep here. They're critical to our ability to do what were doing."
