Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center Announces Plans for Temporary Bookstore, Relocates Student Offices Damaged by Floods

Construction of a temporary bookstore began at Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center Tuesday in order to ensure the bookstore will be open with stocked shelves prior to the beginning of fall semester Aug. 25, university officials said.

Crews began hauling in sheetrock and other construction materials early Tuesday morning to build the temporary bookstore in the recently-completed east wing of the Lory Student Center. That addition, which offers about 3,500 square feet of space, will house the inventory of fall textbooks, counter space and cash registers.

Because space is limited, students will be asked to show their fall class schedule to a bookstore staff person. The staff will then retrieve the books from temporary inventory space adjacent to the bookstore entrance.

"We are making tremendous progress in getting services that students will need this fall up and running as soon as possible," said Martha Blood, Lory Student Center director. "Students will not only be able to purchase fall textbooks on campus, but materials such as pens and notepads also will be readily available."

Meanwhile, bookstore staff is currently filling emergency orders for fall textbooks, Blood said. Fortunately, books that had already been ordered for fall semester but had not arrived before last week’s flood are waiting in trucks until the temporary space is built. Bookstore staff estimate that about 3,500 textbook titles and as many as 500,000 books are needed to fulfill student needs for the fall semester.

Also Tuesday, Lory Student Center officials opened the main floor of the bookstore–which was not damaged–to departments on campus so that staff and faculty may purchase emergency supplies. The main floor of the bookstore will be open to departmental purchases through Friday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Blood said the bookstore’s main floor still has about $1 million in inventory, including office supplies, equipment and other class materials. A generator was brought in to light that area of the student center, which has not had power since the floods. Blood said several electrical crews are inspecting the damage to utilities in hopes of restoring power gradually over the next several weeks.

In addition, the Copy Rite center on the first floor is open and accepting requests from faculty in need of copied classroom packets. The phone number is (970) 491-6395.

Off-campus Student Services, which was located in the basement of Lory Student Center and helps students find housing and roommates, has moved to the Palmer Center. The phone number is (970) 491-6511. Other student clubs and organizations with offices in the basement are now sharing office space at the Associated Students of Colorado State University. Those organizations can be reached at (970) 491-5931.

Blood estimates that damage and clean-up could cost as much as $35 million. About $5 million of that was inventory lost in the bookstore, she said.