Our Mission
The price of course books are a substantial portion of the overall cost of a post secondary education. As such, the cost of books can act as a barrier to accessing a college or university education. The King's Bookstore Co-op is committed to providing high quality service while keeping King's course texts as affordable as possible.
Our History
In the spring of 2006, students were dissatisfied with the price of books for required courses. Led by the President of the King’s Student Union (KSU) David (“Dave”) Jerome (BScH ’09), and Financial Vice President Graham McGillivray (BSc’07), students voted to have a student-owned and democratically operated bookstore at a general meeting in March 2006. The KSU would invest $70,000 in the new venture. Students at the general meeting selected Chris Parsons (BAH ’09) Vice President External, Faith-Anne Hine (BAH ’08) and Paul McLeod (BJH’ 07) to work with Dave Jerome and Graham McGillivray on the Bookstore Creation Committee.
The faculty requested a partnership with an existing independent bookstore in order to ensure that class texts would be available by September. The Book Room, Canada’s oldest independent bookstore, agreed to a partnership. Carolyn Gillis was hired as the first store manager and the process of building and opening a bookstore on campus began.
Working with the small space available to them, Dave Jerome led the group to design an innovative and efficient layout. With the support of facilities staff, renovations began, shelves were built, computers purchased, and books were ordered. On August 8, 2006 the first book was sold.
The bookstore was established as a legal co-operative to ensure that students would forever maintain democratic control of the Bookstore. For the price of one dollar, every KSU member has the opportunity to be part owner and have a say in the operation of their bookstore. Membership is also open to faculty, staff and alumni of the University, all of whom were instrumental in the successful creation of the Co-op.
To improve its sustainability, the King’s Bookstore Co-op declared its independence from The Book Room in June 2007. Today, the King's Co-op Bookstore stands as an example of what can be accomplished when students work together.
