The Used Book Room was a student owned and operated service where you could buy and sell school materials. (Courtesy: Ryersonian Staff)
The books which occupied the former Used Book Room and delayed the construction of the wellness centre have finally been removed. They now sit in neatly stacked boxes within the executive offices of the Ryerson Students’ Union.
In September, the development of the wellness centre was stalled after students failed to pick up their books from the room.
Now, the union has stepped in to remove them and store them in their own office. Neal Muthreja, the vice-president of operations, says most of these books have expired. This means that it has been over a year since they were placed in the book room and because the owner has not picked them up, ownership was transferred to the union.
The physical room itself has since been replaced by an online resource. Muthreja cites an $85,000 budget deficit as part of the reason for the switch to online. He says it is a lot easier to manage as an online resource, and more students are getting their used books online through resources like Kijiji or Toronto University Student Book Exchange.
As for what will happen to the books that remain in the union’s office, Muthreja says,“right now, we’re storing them in the office, because our main focus is getting the wellness centre up and running.” When the centre is complete, a decision will be reached by the executive team.
