What is the latest update on the new name?

What was the proposed new name?

Why were you planning a name change?

What does this mean?

Why didn’t the new name reference retail in any way, for example, ‘store’?

What exactly does the UBC Bookstore sell?

What services does the UBC Bookstore provide?

The proposed name, UBC Central, had nothing to do with academic offerings now. Why? We are an academic institution.

By considering a name change, are you sacrificing the academic link in the pure interests of profitability?

Are you going to continue to sell books?

Does this mean job losses for your book team?

Has the UBC Bookstore been leased?

Who was involved in the naming process?

How much money has been spent on this so far?

What is the latest update on the new name?

As of November 2011, we are putting the proposed name on hold. What we are looking at is changing the associated logo graphic to speak to our many products and services. This does not mean that we will not change the name in the future, but we have many other major projects to focus on in 2012.

What was the proposed new name?

The name that was proposed in July 2011 was UBC Central.

Why were you planning a name change?

While we are focusing more than ever on our book systems and pricing, ‘UBC Bookstore’ does not accurately reflect the wide range of products and services offered in the store. We simply need to communicate to new and existing customers that we provide many different products and services. The traditional book industry is changing and we are adapting along with it. We need to communicate these changes. Customers and campus visitors are surprised by the range of products and services that we provide.  The variety and selection of merchandise and services offered by the Bookstore have increased significantly over the last 30 years.

What does this mean?

We chose the name UBC Central for the following reasons:

• The store’s products and services are central to student success
• UBC is still a fundamental part of our name and we will continue to give back to the UBC community
• Definition: middle, crucial, main part of town, essential, fundamental, dominant
• Location: the store is located in the heart of campus and is the source for products and services to support academic success and UBC specific products and services. Like a transportation hub, we provide our customers with the tools they need to move in any direction they choose.

Why wouldn't a new name reference retail in any way, for example, ‘store’?

The use of ‘retail’ or ‘store’ limits us to selling products, rather than allowing us to grow our service offerings in-store.

Services are now a large part of our business. These include the UBCcard, U-Pass, coffee shop, UBC IT Help Desk services and essential technology services, 50+ events and donations and space to 300+ student and community organizations.

What exactly does the UBC Bookstore sell?

Of course, we sell textbooks for students, as well as general (non-course) books, which we will continue to provide. If you have feedback on the titles we carry, please let us know, we are more than happy to review possible additions. We can also send you lists of books within specific sections.

We also sell a wide range of  other products which have enabled us to continue to sell books.  At the moment, these include: clothing, giftware,  computer hardware, software and accessories, phones, stationery, homeware, children’s clothes and gifts, shoes, custom-imprint items, cards, art supplies, furniture, stamps, food and snacks and first aid supplies.

In essence, we are a one-stop shop.

The variety of merchandise offered by the UBC Bookstore has increased significantly over the last 30 years.

What services does the UBC Bookstore provide?

Services are now a large part of our business.  These include the UBCcard, U-Pass, coffee shop, UBC IT Help Desk services and essential technology services, 50+ events and donations and space to 300+ student and community organizations. We believe we have been able to thrive because we undertook early on the transition from being a place where books await customers to being a centre of social and cultural exchange.

So, the new name may not have a direct reference to academic offerings. Why? We are an academic institution.

We know that the book is incredibly important to learning and scholarship. We have supplied course materials to the UBC campus community since 1917 and we will continue to do so with pride. We will maintain and strengthen our ongoing relationships with faculty and publishers to ensure that students have access to all of their course materials. 

We simply need to communicate to new and existing customers that we provide many different products and services. In order to grow our book offerings, we need to be able to grow the business in any direction in order to ensure that we can continue to be as successful as we always have been and serve the UBC community.

Are you sacrificing the academic link in the pure interests of profitability?

We are not changing our name to make more money or to distance ourselves from the academic role on campus.  We are still committed to and very strongly connected to textbooks, general books and academia and are very proud of that fact. We simply need to communicate to new and existing customers that we provide many different products and services.

We continue to be owned and operated by UBC and return a dividend each year to be re-invested on campus. In 2009/10, we returned a dividend of  $1.6 million.

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Are you going to continue to sell books?

We have supplied textbooks to the UBC campus community since 1917 and we will continue to do so with pride.

 We would like you to rest assured that our proposed name change does not imply that we are moving away from books. We know that the book is incredibly important to learning and scholarship. Indeed, we would like to highlight to you that we are doing more than ever in improving our book systems and pricing. We are currently working very hard to provide a wider choice of course materials at competitive pricing both in-store and online, as well as improving our ordering processes for faculty. We will be growing our digital (e-book) business to meet changing demands of our customers and in line with technological advances, for example, we now sell 250+ books through Google eBooks. In terms of general (non-course) books, we are now the number one University trade bookstore in Canada. Our Robson Square Reading Series continues to grow and we will continue to sponsor author events both on campus and downtown. We are trying to ensure that books continue to thrive.

As of mid-August 2011, students will be able to order their textbooks online using their CWL log-in on the Vancouver campus. In addition, we are expanding our rental textbooks programme significantly to be able to offer students very competitive pricing.

We encourage the support of you and the UBC community to share these updates and to ensure that our focus on books can continue in the same vein.

Does this mean job losses for your book team?

This does not mean job losses for either our textbook or our general (trade book) team . Staff members in the book and technology areas are continuing to expand our electronic book and ecommerce offerings, custom print on demand books and to seek out new opportunities to enhance our specialty general book areas.

Has the UBC Bookstore been leased?

The UBC Bookstore (and whatever the new name is) will continue to be owned and operated by UBC.

Who was involved in the naming process?

Internally, we have shared our plans with all staff from the beginning of the process about eight months ago.  We have also kept our Bookstore advisory committees in the loop in Vancouver and the Okanagan. We have tested the name with our volunteer student ambassadors who work closely with us throughout the year. Our managing director and communications manager have led the process.

We have also consulted the largest North American university bookstores with whom we work closely and who are also reviewing their names this year to reflect the breadth and depth of product and service offerings.

The idea of a name change was also tested with students from a range of years both online and face-to-face (at least 500).

How much money has been spent on this so far?

The exercise has been carried out in a cost effective manner. As a business, cost is a concern for us so we have kept these to an absolute minimum. The changes will be rolled out gradually to minimise cost.