For the bookstore, settling into another temporary home

Staff and students at the University Book Store in the Iowa Memorial Union were looking forward to a busy few months. They’ve got them, but not how—or where—they expected.

“We were really jazzed for the summer,” says Richard Shannon, bookstore manager, noting that he and colleagues had fully settled into their renovated IMU space and had just opened an Apple campus store.

But a rising river pushed their plans to higher ground—on June 23, they will open for business in the University Capitol Center (AKA “the Old Capitol Mall”) in downtown Iowa City.

Like other flood stories, the bookstore evacuation is a tale of quick thinking, determination, and volunteer spirit. Staff started clearing out on Wednesday, June 11, thinking they’d have until the following Monday.

But Monday became Saturday, then Friday afternoon, then Friday morning. Despite the advancing deadline, Shannon says they managed to move 90 percent of their inventory.

“It might have looked chaotic, but it was really pretty organized,” he says, describing efforts by students, IMU staff, and friends across campus who showed up to help. “Whenever someone came into the store, we gave them a box and pointed where to go.”

Hawkeye Moving and Storage delivered the store’s contents to its new location, where it’ll be spread over three retail spaces. The textbook department is the top priority, but other spots will handle Hawkeye apparel and gifts, and electronics and software. Shannon thinks he’ll be able to call back all his current student employees.

It’s not the first temporary setup for the store, which occupied the IMU main lounge during recent renovations. But another move so soon is tough, especially since it meant leaving a redesigned space that had just come to feel like home.

“It’s kind of a heartbreaker,” Shannon says, adding that it’s impossible to predict when the store might return to the IMU. “But the key thing for us is seeing the way everyone pitched in when we needed a hand.”