A college bookstore consultant told the Holmes Student Center Bookstore Committee the bookstore already has the resources to provide anything a private vendor could offer.

William Minney, President of College Bookstore Management Consulting, Inc., told the bookstore committee that he “is not aware of any techniques they (outside vendors) could use that are not available to the bookstore now.”

Minney was asked by the bookstore committee to offer his opinion regarding leasing the bookstore to an outside vendor. Minney has worked with bookstores for 27 years and is the co_author of Principles of College Bookstore Management.

“I come here with no biases. I have no axe to grind here,” he said before his presentation.

Minney said his presentation was based on a “cursory look at the bookstore.” Minney said he will not make a recommendation because he has not had enough time to fully examine the bookstore’s operations. A thorough evaluation of the bookstore would take seven to 10 days, he said.

“The service levels of the store are excellent … although they are not necessarily optimum,” Minney said.

Minney said there are personnel problems with the bookstore, and an evaluation is necessary to determine the needs of the managerial services.

“The store is top-heavy, there are 11 supervisors for 23 positions,” he said.

Minney said the bookstore returns a “good profit” that goes toward student fees. “Anything that reduces student fees is a benefit to the campus,” he said.

Controlling bookstore policies, inventories, prices and selection are all benefits of retaining the bookstore, Minney said.

However, Minney said the capital investment NIU has in the bookstore and the possible ill feelings with local businesses are disadvantages with the present bookstore operation.

If the bookstore was leased to an outside vendor, NIU would have fewer controls over the bookstore’s operations. Staff jobs might be eliminated and profits would leave DeKalb, he said.

Minney said once the contract to lease out the bookstore is signed, it is “hard to find the dollars to buy it (bookstore) back.”

“I will wager, and give you odds, that two or three years from 1989 those dollars will be gone,” he said.

Minney said a private vendor and a university have different perspectives toward the bookstore. A private vendor could concentrate on the bookstore because a private vendor’s first priority is to sell books, while a university’s first priority is to educate and research.

Minney said a private vendor’s bookstore perspective is usually difficult to see because bookstore employees that are retained keep the same attitude toward their jobs. “How can the staff become more dedicated then they are now? What you see now probably would not change,” he said.

Minney said a private vendor would respond to complaints according to the vendor’s policy and how well the particular store is doing. “They will be as receptive as the individuals in the chain of command,” he said.