Middle Tennessee State University has selected Barnes & Noble College to manage its campus bookstore operations. The store will reopen as MTSU Phillips Bookstore under Barnes & Noble College management on April 6 in the Student Union Building.

MTSU Business and Finance Vice President Alan Thomas and Barnes & Noble College President Lisa Malat announced the new partnership after the university’s competitive bid process resulted in the choice of Barnes & Noble College.

Lisa Malat

Alan Thomas

MTSU Phillips Bookstore will act as a complete support system for MTSU, providing a social and academic hub to drive success for the campus community, officials said.

Through an extensive offering of affordable learning materials, including new, used and digital books, a robust textbook rental program and a price match program, Barnes & Noble College will drive significant cost savings for MTSU students, Barnes & Noble College officials said.

“We are excited about the MTSU/Barnes & Noble College partnership and the opportunities it will bring to our campus community,” Thomas said.

“Barnes & Noble College has the extensive experience and vision to enhance our bookstore as a campus destination, enrich the book-buying experience, expand affordable resources for MTSU students and support the university’s overall mission,” Thomas added. “We look forward to teaming up with Barnes & Noble College to continue serving the evolving needs of our campus.”

Malat said MTSU “is a leading institution dedicated to helping students succeed, and we are thrilled to become a part of such a well-regarded community.”

“We look forward to delivering advanced academic solutions that support both students and faculty, as well as best-in-class retail experiences for the entire campus community,” Malat added.

Additional opportunities for savings are available through programs such as FirstDay™, Barnes & Noble College’s inclusive access platform. FirstDay offers learning materials at reduced prices through a course materials fee for participating programs. Students receive their materials on or before the first day of class, delivered seamlessly through their learning management system.

Under Barnes & Noble College, Phillips Bookstore will also offer an enhanced product assortment, including MTSU-branded merchandise to help students, faculty, alumni and community show their MTSU pride.

Clothing, gifts, school supplies, technology and more will be available to browse both in-store and online.

Faculty also will gain access to Barnes & Noble College’s new Adoption & Insights Portal. The adoption portal was developed to solve challenges faced by higher education administrators and faculty in the areas of discovering, selecting, and adopting course material for instructional use.

With the adoption portal, faculty and staff can easily manage and submit course material adoptions each term, MTSU’s academic leadership can view real-time adoption rates and submission progress at the school or departmental level and communicate directly with faculty from within the portal.

Barnes & Noble College operates more than 770 campus stores nationwide. For more information about Barnes & Noble College’s services and locations, visit www.bncollege.com.

About Barnes & Noble College

Barnes & Noble College is a leading operator of college bookstores in the United States. Barnes & Noble College currently operates 772 campus bookstores and the school-branded e-commerce sites for each store, serving more than 5 million college students and faculty nationwide.

About Middle Tennessee State University

MTSU, a comprehensive, innovative institution, attracts students to distinctive bachelor’s, master’s, specialist and doctoral programs preparing graduates to thrive in their chosen professions and a changing global society. Students and faculty generate, preserve and disseminate knowledge and collaboratively promote excellence through teaching and learning, research, creative activity and public engagement.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)