HPU selects Barnes & Noble College to manage campus and Aloha Tower bookstores

HONOLULU — In a move aimed at enhancing services to students and faculty and beginning to bring new retail partners to its Aloha Tower Project, Hawai‘i Pacific University announced today that it has selected Barnes & Noble College to operate its bookstores.

Barnes & Noble will prepare to take over operations at HPU’s Downtown and Hawaii Loa Campus bookstores in August before moving the Downtown Campus bookstore to Aloha Tower Marketplace in the upcoming 2013-14 school year. It is also preparing to assume bookstore operations serving HPU’s Military Campus Programs.

“We are pleased to have selected Barnes & Noble College and are particularly excited about what this will mean for our Aloha Tower project,” said Geoffrey Bannister, president of HPU. “Its vast experience with other universities, including those in urban settings, will allow us to serve more effectively our campuses and the downtown community more broadly.”

HPU selected Barnes & Noble through a competitive bid process that attracted other well-known retailers. The national bookseller was chosen for what it might provide for students and faculty, as well as local customers and island visitors. While Barnes & Noble College operates more than 700 campus stores nationwide, this will be its first higher education bookstore in Hawai‘i.

Its Aloha Tower presence will be located on the first floor, in a 7,200-square-foot space previously occupied by Pipe Dreams Surf Company and facing Ala Moana Boulevard/Nimitz Highway. The store is intended to be a hybrid, offering the best of the traditional Barnes & Noble experience along with merchandise both for college customers and tourists. An opening date is expected to be announced in coming weeks.

Barnes & Noble College will provide the marketplace’s largest selection of course materials in a variety of cost-saving formats — rental, used, digital and new. Faculty will also have access to a groundbreaking online community, FacultyEnlight (www.FacultyEnlight.com), a streamlined textbook adoption platform that combines advanced search capabilities with detailed information on course material formats, pricing and reviews by other faculty.

The HPU community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will enjoy campus bookstores that reflect the HPU brand, including a selection of Sea Warrior school spirit apparel, supplies and gifts for friends and family. HPU has 37,000 alumni, about 14,000 of whom live and work in Hawai‘i.

In addition to the campus bookstores, Barnes & Noble College will manage the university’s bookstore website, delivering an innovative customized shopping experience and giving students, faculty and alumni the choice and convenience to shop in-store or online for their course materials.

Students will have access to Barnes & Noble College’s textbook rental program, which can save students an average of 50 percent off the price of a new textbook. HPU students will have the choice to rent a new or used textbook, with the option to purchase their rental at the end of the agreement.  HPU students will also gain access to the largest digital library in the industry, with more than 3 million titles to choose from.

“We’re very excited to have formed our first partnership in the beautiful state of Hawai‘i with Hawai‘i Pacific University,” said Max J. Roberts, president & CEO of Barnes & Noble College. “We’re looking forward to working with the university community to offer dynamic campus stores, focused on delivering a retail and digital learning experience that complements this renowned school and supports HPU students, faculty, staff and alumni.”

Hawai‘i Pacific University is the state’s largest private university with 7,500 students from the United States and more than 80 foreign nations. HPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the Council on Social Work Education and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. See www.hpu.edu.

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