University of Virginia Library

Absolute Minimum

Therefore, in order to sell hardbacks at a
discount, the committee found that overhead
would have to be held at an absolute minimum.
The principal cost would be student labor
during the two months a year in which the
bookstore would be open.

It is unlikely that the proposed adjunct
could give credit, as do the Corner bookstores.
"If we wanted to finance it, we would have to
finance it by borrowing money," Mr. Parker
said. The interest charges would add to the
overhead and make offering discount prices
more difficult.

The proposed bookstore might utilize
national credit services, such as Bankamericard
and Master Charge, he continued. However, this
possibility is also slight, because the credit
services would levy a charge of five percent on
the bookstore.

Mr. Parker said his committee
investigated two possible sites for the proposed
discount bookstore, One is the pool room in
the basement of Newcomb Hall. "We could just
stack the books right there and the one we
didn't sell we could send back to the
publishers,"he stated.

However, he added the University Union is
considering a conversion of the Newcomb Hall
basement into a rathskeller. In such an event,
this space would be unavailable.

The committee is also considering placing
the bookstore adjunct in the basement of one of
the McCormick Road dormitories.

The committee has negotiated with the
management of the present Newcomb Hall
Bookstore about the possibility of running the
operation of the proposed adjunct through the
accounting procedures of the Newcomb Hall
store.

According to the Virginia Law Weekly.
Newcomb Hall administrators contend that
selling textbooks at discount prices would be
"price war" and would be attacked because the
store would have the privileges of a state
institution.