Later this summer, the UConn Co-op, Storrs, Conn., will open a second location, in Storrs Center, a 15,000-square-foot area where the Co-op's trade books and art supplies sections will move. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will lease space in the Storrs Center store; a cafe will also be in the new space.
The Co-op will share an event space with the Museum of Puppetry, where the former will host signings and readings and the latter will put on performances and craft talks. The two institutions will have separate street entrances but be connected through interior entrances. The University of Connecticut is one of the few schools at which students can receive both undergrad and graduate degrees in puppetry.
"We do a lot of events with the Puppetry Museum, and they didn't have a very good location anyway," explained Suzy Staubach, UConn Co-op's general books manager. "We do plenty of things together now, just not in the same space. It'll be a draw for us."
Staubach plans to shy away from shelves and use more display tables in the new space, to open it up and make it more conducive to wandering and browsing. Textbooks, clothing, computers and some art supplies will stay in the current location, where the layout is more linear. According to Staubach, it's only a short walk between the new and current location: "About 12 minutes, if you don't stop to smell the roses."
The grand opening for the entire Storrs Center complex is slated for September 20; although there is not a definite timeline for the move, Staubach hopes to be settled into the new location with time to spare--and to smell the roses. --Alex Mutter