Follett’s Orange Bookstore, a longtime textbook supplier for Syracuse University students, will close its doors for the last time Friday, Feb. 24.

Joseph Dugas, textbook coordinator for Follett’s, declined to specify the ‘several reasons’ for the bookstore’s closing, but he said the competition between Follett’s and the SU Bookstore played a role. It is uncommon for two major bookstores to service a university, Dugas said.

The textbook business is simply hurting in general, Dugas said. Students are often finding their required books for cheaper prices through online retailers, such as Chegg and Amazon.

Students are also spending less annually on textbooks, and professors are acknowledging high textbook prices, according to a Jan. 17 article in The Daily Orange.

Some professors are also making readers of their own, which may eliminate the need for a textbook, Dugas said.

But he said bookstores become convenient for students when they suddenly feel they need a textbook and cannot wait the ‘two- to three-day’ shipping period from online retailers.

Dugas said he noticed professors placed fewer orders to Follett’s this semester, and some orders came in late, which caused textbooks to be late, too.

As for any future tenants in the space Follett’s currently occupies, Dugas said Panera Bread is a possibility, but he was not completely sure.

Follett’s is open and operating normally for now and, as of Saturday, did not have any signs signaling the store’s departure.

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Published on January 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Breanne: [email protected] | @bre_vann