It wasn’t exactly the welcome new students or the new management of the campus bookstore wanted. Long lines, books not in stock and frustrated faculty members were just the start.

“I’m not going to lie, I knew there was going to be things that fell through the cracks from us going from Barnes and Noble to Follett,” Jenny Denning, bookstore manager for 15 years, said. “I knew things weren’t going to be perfect.”

Denning said the technical difficulties the bookstore experienced were caused by transitioning from one company to another, but she wants to open students eyes to all of the benefits Follett has to offer.

“We had some technical difficulties with our registers that the university is aware of and Follett is aware of,” Denning said. “It wasn’t just our store, but they are working on that and we certainly don’t want to cross that bridge again in the spring.”

The main complaint students had was how long the lines were and the amount of time it took to make it to check out.

Lydia Croxson, sophomore in nursing, said. “When I walked into the bookstore, the line was to the back of the store and the line was moving really slow. I decided to order all my books through Chegg.com.”

Denning also said the bookstore didn’t have enough registers.

“We will have seven total registers for the spring semester,” Denning said.

Follett also offers online ordering through their company, allowing students to pick up their books at the campus location, something some students may not have known when they headed to other online realtors.

“I did not know about the online ordering, but it probably wouldn’t be any cheaper so I am not sure if I would use it,” Croxson said.

Denning said Follett has opportunities for students to save on textbooks.

“They do have a lot more options for savings, more so than Barnes and Noble,” Denning said.

Their website is one of the largest college online bookstore realtors. Denning mentioned that by purchasing eBooks, students are able to buy three to six chapters at a time, which can be a huge money saver if students do not need the whole textbook.

“Used books are 25 percent cheaper than the new books,” Denning said. “It is inevitable that prices on some books will go up.”

With Follett, students still have the option to rent textbooks for a discounted price. Denning said if professors with custom-titled textbooks keep those books around for at least three semesters, the bookstore can add that title to a list of books that can be purchased used.

“We have seen a big increase in renting textbooks going from Barnes and Noble to Follett this fall,“ Denning said. “We still have the partnership with Journey Ed where students can go online to our bookstore website and to the link where they can purchase software.”

Before last spring, students could also shop for textbooks at the Neebo bookstore located off campus. Neebo has since closed, making the Follett on-campus bookstore the only local distributor.

Denning said if students needed a book that was not available, they could order online and a book from the Follett inventory would be sent to them.

“We have adapted and discussed all the issues, and there will be more books on the shelves for spring,” Denning said. “I think our team is aware of the need now that we are the only college bookstore here in town, we are going to represent—and represent in a big way.”

Barnes and Noble, who managed the bookstore since 1986, was outed after a bid process last spring. The Follett Corporation took over with a contract of five years with an option to renew.