Q&A With UK Bookstore General Manager David Lang

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2018) —  University of Kentucky Bookstore General Manager David Lang sat down with UKNow to discuss the new UK Bookstore located in the Gatton Student Center. The bookstore celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, May 1.

How long have you worked at the UK Bookstore? I have been at the UK Bookstore for three years. I started when Barnes & Noble came to UK.

When did the new UK Bookstore open? The new UK Bookstore opened April 23 in the new Student Center. We celebrated our grand opening Tuesday, May 1.

What are you most excited about with the opening of this store? The most exciting part to me is the physical space itself. We’ve worked out of a tent since arriving on campus, so to be able to move into the new, beautiful bookstore is very exciting. Our staff built this store from a tent to a large bookstore.

Are there any services/products that have changed or have been added in the new store? The new UK Bookstore will have a large general reading department, a fantastic new Nike Shop, a Starbucks Café and an authorized Apple Store. The store will be bigger and better than before!

Tell us more about Starbucks and the Apple Store. The Starbucks Café is a fully licensed Starbucks. All the staff will be trained and certified as baristas by Starbucks trainers. The café seats up to 70 guests and there is a meeting room attached to the café. The meeting room can be reserved by the campus community through the Event Management Office.  The Apple Store is an official authorized Apple reseller and service provider. Students, faculty and staff will be able to conveniently purchase Apple products at an educational discount as well as have their devices serviced.

What are some highlights of the new UK Bookstore you think the campus community will be most impressed with? The licensed Starbucks Café, the authorized Apple Store and the general reading department will appeal to different groups of everyone on the UK campus community. We really put a lot a thought and considered campus input when we designed this new store. It was really important to us to have something for everyone at UK.

Is there anything else you want the campus community to know about the new bookstore? The UK Bookstore will provide more services to the UK community with expanded hours of operation. The larger UK Bookstore, with its added space and services, has also created a need for expanded staff and more jobs in the store. We’re excited to offer more employment opportunities on campus for UK students. This enabled us to hire more UK students. We are excited to help UK students with jobs at the bookstore.

The bookstore is open 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. For more information on the bookstore, visit the UK Bookstore website at www.uky.bncollege.com.