To learn more about this collection please see the finding aid link found above, and/or visit the College and Lutheran Church Archives to use these primary sources.
The Book Mark. Collection of the Book Mark, 1924-1999. GACA Collection 217. 1 carton and ½ Hollinger box.
ABSTRACT:
The Book Mark Collection consists of records and a pricing machine created and used by staff in the Gustavus Adolphus College bookstore, The Book Mark. This holding contains the history of the bookstore, including correspondence that lead to the writing of a history of the store for the National Association of College Stores (NACS). Additionally, the collection has the bookstore’s course lists from fall semester 1970 through Spring semester 1981. There are various advertisements promoting merchandise (clothing, trade books, etc.) within the store. Advertisements are not dated but appear to be from the same time period as the course lists.
In 1925, Gustavus Adolphus College established a bookstore, run by the treasurer of the college. By 1943 the store had grown enough to be moved to the basement of Uhler Hall and became a separate entity. With increased demand for textbooks and a growing supply of accoutrements and services, the bookstore took home in the “White House,” also known as Reading Hall, in 1948. The bookstore moved again in January 1960 to the Food Service Building, today known as the Student Union. After a contest, the bookstore was officially named the Book Mark, a name coined by contestant winner Carol Manfred in 1972. Due to tornado damage in 1998, the Book Mark was temporarily located in a FEMA trailer. A year later, it moved back into the new Student Union, where it is located today.
* Information obtained from the collection.
