University Sticks a Band-Aid on a Vic Books-Shaped Wound
Words by Zoë Mills (they/she)
The university has announced that the space left in the wake of the Vic Books closure will be temporarily replaced by a partnership between The Lab and textbook supplier Campus Books for the remainder of the year.
The Lab will open from Monday, 3 April in the former Vic Books café space. Between 3-23 April, the bookstore area of the space will be closed for an internal fit out to prepare for the arrival of Campus Books. They will begin operations from the Kelburn campus from 24 April, the first day back after the mid-Trimester break.
Acting Chief Operating Officer Simon Johnson says that a more “‘permanent solution”’ for the space will be decided on by Trimester 1 of the 2024 academic year. However, no decisions have been made as to whether a similar arrangement will take place at the Pipitea campus for the remainder of the year.
“At this stage, Campus Books is not opening a branch at the Pipitea campus,” a university spokesperson told Salient. “The university will work through permanent solutions for the space currently occupied by Vic Books over the next few months and will keep our community informed about any decisions.”
In an email sent to all staff and students, Johnson outlined the key operation dates and information regarding the two retailers. He said that the hybrid combination of the two retailers was chosen to “maintain the vibrancy of the Kelburn campus.” However, some are unimpressed, and say that this decision is not enough.
Professor Ali Knott, alongside other unnamed staff members, began a petition on change.org last month to push for a bookshop to remain in operation on Kelburn campus. Knott says that while it's a “‘relief”’ to see that the space will be partially occupied by the incoming retailers, he believes that, “in these arrangements, there’s no provision for the general books that we currently see at Vic Books. And no provision for the flourishing ambience that comes from a cafe set amidst books, which we have enjoyed for many years.”
Campus Books currently provides textbooks to Waikato, Massey, and Lincoln universities, and will be the new official course materials and textbook retailer of VUW. The Lab, which currently runs two operations out of Kelburn and Pipitea campuses, will open a third outlet at the university.
The Lab and Campus Books alone won't be large enough to fill the space. Johnson says that, with the surplus space, the university will “trial a range of flexible uses including front-facing student services, pop-ups, general book retail, or student space.”
“We are acutely aware of staff sentiment around the closure of Vic Books and the support many staff have expressed for an ongoing retail book operation. There is also support from many students for a convenience store operation,” Johnson wrote in the email. “We will continue to explore these, and other options, to see whether either or both of them might be viable options to consider further in 2024.”
Knott says that the hybrid model of a cafe and textbook store won’t fix the university’s need for a bookshop. “Universities need bookshops, and Vic Books has been the intellectual and cultural heart of the Kelburn campus for many years. As we see the books disappearing from its shelves in its closing-down sale, we’re newly aware of how important it is.”
“The overwhelming message is that a bookshop has a precious place at the heart of the Kelburn campus, and is something we should fight to retain,” he said.