When students return to classes on Sept. 24 and head off to buy their books and school supplies, they will notice one big change – the UO Bookstore will have a new name and in part, a new mission.
On Sept. 10, the bookstore organization declared that it will now be known as “The Duck Store.”
Bookstore General Manager Jim Williams said the store deals in such a wide variety of products – textbooks account for just 28.5 percent of its sales – that “bookstore” had become a “limited way to describe what we do.”
The newly named Duck Store is a non-profit organization that includes not only the campus store, but also the “Duck Shops” located throughout Eugene and in Portland and Bend.
“There’s a major heritage and uniqueness to our organization that’s not really replicated by very many other college stores in the country,” Williams said.
Williams said he thinks of the organization as a “knowledge store” – a name that was already taken by another company. He hopes to implement new concepts such as holding seminars to teach people to use their new computers or bringing in guest speakers.
Williams, who has been the general manager for 32 years, said the name “The Duck Store” is fitting because of the strong connection students and alumni feel for the University.
“The idea of being a duck is something that is unusually strong,” he said. “It resonates with people. It’s just having attended here, having graduated from here, that whole thing of ‘once a Duck, always a Duck.’”
While the store is officially a non-profit organization, it does make money, although not much. Any money made that is above what is required to operate the store – last year about $600,000 – is put back into “improving the organization,” Williams said. The cost of the name change will come out of that money.