Students will once again be able to sell and buy books in The Hub
By Anttoni James Numminen
Photo courtesy of Anttoni James Numminen
Bookends, the student-led charity bookshop based on campus, reopened on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, after closing at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Based in a compact yet cosy space in The Hub, opposite the Shared Planet society’s food point, the student group Bookends sells and buys used books at reasonable prices. Students can either donate their books, sell their books directly to Bookends, or choose to sell their books through Bookends, in which case the proceeds are divided between the seller and Bookends.
Meret Meister, Bookends’ PR officer, told The Gaudie: “We mainly sell textbooks as well as a lot of novels and other miscellaneous stuff”.
Last week, the team was still cataloguing the vast contents of their shelves, sorting through out-of-date copies of textbooks and other forms of literature that they do not think they can sell but which students can pick up for free from the shop’s entrance.
Meister, a fourth-year history student, said the group had already received enquiries from students interested in joining the team, adding that there is always space for more volunteers and people to join the committee.
“I hope that once we reopen and people get to know about this, it’ll become a livelier place again.”
A few days before reopening, the shop floor was still covered in assorted piles of books, DVDs, LPs, and magazines. However, Meret said that once everything has been neatly stacked away, “students are still welcome to rummage through shelves to find what books might be hiding behind other books.”
Bookends had been hoping to open last semester but owing mainly to Covid restrictions on the number of people allowed in a single space, it was not possible. The group said it was now receiving “some support” from the students’ association.
According to Bookends, proceeds and profits made by the group go to charity donations, with most of it passed on to AUSA’s Raising and Giving (RAG) group in the past. However, RAG’s activity has also been affected by the pandemic, and Meret said that Bookends was “looking around at other options, but I think we’ll continue the RAG partnership.”
Students interested in joining the Bookends team should contact them on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AUSABookends or in-person at the shop.
Bookends will be open Tuesday to Friday, and those wishing to make a purchase can pay in cash or by card.
