Fate of Friends of Art Bookshop unclear

The Friends of Art Bookshop announced Tuesday it would close this summer due to a conflict with University policy, but details of the alleged closure, including if it would close, remain unclear.

An April 12 email from Friends of Art President Laurel Cornell said the bookshop “must close because its existence violates the contract which Indiana University has with Barnes and Noble for the sale of books.”

The same email indicates news of FOA’s closure was given to the organization on April 5 during a meeting with the President of the IU Foundation and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Trustees could not confirm the bookshop’s closure is part of any stipulation with Barnes & Noble.

“The trustees were made aware this afternoon of an announcement that the fine arts bookstore has been slated to close,” said Patrick Shoulders, vice president of the Board of Trustees. “We know nothing nor has any trustee been consulted about this proposed closure. Preliminarily, we have been told that it has nothing to do about Barnes & Noble.”

Mark Land, associate vice president of University Communications, said the situation is still being worked out.

“We don’t know for sure what’s going to happen to the bookstore,” Land said. “As of right now, no decision has been made on the fate of the store. Regardless of what ultimately happens, it won’t be a result of our contract agreement with Barnes & Noble.

“The provost would like time to explore the situation fully and see what the best path forward is.”

However, Land said the Friends of Art Bookshop was indeed discussed in conjunction with the University’s affiliation with Barnes & Noble.

“Maybe someone was of the opinion that the Friends of Art Bookstore would put us in conflict with Barnes & Noble,” Land said. “That is not the case.”

Cornell said the Friends of Art may continue to still operate in the future if the Bookshop indeed closes. The Bookshop has existed for 45 years on campus since the FOA’s creation in 1965, according to its website.

“The Friends of Art can continue to exist as an organization and can continue with our mission, but to do so we must do a great deal of hard work together to imagine our future as an organization,” Cornell said. “We thank those who had the vision to realize that selling scholarly books on art and design could serve a number of purposes.”

Founded in 1965, the Friends of Art organization has donated more than $30,000 each year to benefit the fine arts education at IU, primarily through assisting with graduate research and funding undergraduate scholarships, according to the FOA website. The bookshop provides many of the textbooks required for IU fine arts classes that cannot be found elsewhere in Bloomington.

IU’s affiliation with Barnes & Noble began on May 4, 2007, when former IU President Adam W. Herbert accepted a 10-year contract with the international book distributor.
The Friends of Art Bookshop has a tentative closing date of Aug. 1, according to Cornell’s email.

“At this point, we encourage everyone to continue supporting the bookshop while it remains open,” former bookshop student manager Angela Smith said through the official Facebook account Save the Friends of Art Bookshop.