With American River College announcing that its classes will be online for the upcoming summer and fall semesters, the Beaver Bookstore will be making the full transition to online-only as well for the remainder of 2020.

According to an email from Mario Rodriguez, ARC’s vice-chancellor of finance and administration at ARC, the Beaver Bookstore will officially make the change to online after the spring semester ends.. 

“After an exhaustive national search for viable partners and a series of thorough negotiations, we are pleased to announce that our bookstore operations will be transitioning to Follett effective June 1,” Rodriguez said in an email to the Current. 

Students will need to go to the website Follett to buy textbooks as well as other school supplies. Students can make purchases for their specific school and have items shipped to their home.  According to Rodriguez, Follett was chosen by ARC for its online location due to its easy-to-use website and how long they’ve helped schools in all levels from K-12 all the way to the college level. 

“Follett was selected by the team leading this effort because of their commitment to student success and access,” Rodriguez said. “Follett has been in the higher education industry for more than 140 years. They operate over one hundred two-year and four-year college bookstores in California and over 12,000 college bookstores throughout the United States and Canada. By any measure, they are among the best at what they do.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will not only be a safer way for students to buy their textbooks for the upcoming summer and fall semesters but according to Rodriguez, it’ll also be more affordable for students as well.  

“[Follett’s] access to textbook inventory, economies of scale, and innovative technology and course materials solutions uniquely position them to help us reduce financial barriers for our students,” Rodriguez said. “To demonstrate their commitment to affordability, Follett has guaranteed, subject to a penalty payment, that student course materials savings in the first year of the partnership will be at least $1,000,000.”

And, with the bookstore moving online, Rodriguez says he has ensured that all their full-time employees “would not be negatively impacted by this transition.”

“The staff at our college bookstores have worked hard and displayed compassion and dedication over many years, and we are making sure they will continue to share their talents and commitment within other Los Rios departments without a break in service,” Rodriguez said.

ARC encourages its students to ask any questions they may have about the change to an online bookstore by contacting ARC’s Vice President of Administration Services, Kuldeep Kaur.