I sent the following message to the faculty and staff of Moravian College to address an earlier email by Dr. Grigsby. I think it clarifies the issue around some key questions. As always, please feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions. The email follows: Dear campus community, In the spirit of open dialogue I am writing you today to address some misinformation and half-truths that have been spread to students, faculty and staff. I would like to to address some errors in both the narrative and facts surrounding Moravian College’s purchase of the Moravian Book Shop. The fact of the matter is that for 273 years Moravian College and the Moravian Book Shop has been neighbors and, at times, partners in the heart of the historic district of Bethlehem. Many of you number among our most loyal customers and many of our staff over the years have been students and graduates of Moravian College. Why is Moravian College purchasing the Moravian Book Shop? The Moravian Book Shop board of directors along with the Moravian Church’s Provincial Elders’ Conference made a series of poor strategic decisions in recent years culminating in the opening of a deeply unsuccessful Allentown location in 2015 (and closed in 2017 after two years of persistent losses). In our historic location in Bethlehem we do almost $2 million in annual sales and have a great staff and management team. What does this mean for the bookshop? To be honest, we at the bookshop do not know. We have been following the news and seeing the contradictory reports from Moravian College and the Moravian Book Shop board of directors. In the eight days since we were given the news we have not gotten any additional information from the Moravian Church or Moravian College regarding a time line for the transition, what the structure of the new store will be, if benefits will transfer, etc. The only information given to us first hand was that we did not have job security moving forward and that we would be invited to apply for jobs in the new store. Frankly, I believe we the employees deserve better. At the very least we deserve a contact at the college who can field our questions and concerns. I also believe we deserve a seat at table in determining the future of our beautiful store. Will the Moravian Book Shop be a Barnes & Noble? In short, yes. I know President Grigsby and Moravian College spokespeople enjoy playing an intellectual shell game in answering this question. They say the sign out front will remain the same, but Barnes & Noble College will manage the store, as if it is simply the name of the store that is cherished by our community. Or, as if Barnes & Noble College is not a huge national corporation with over 700 stores, which is even more than their former parent company Barnes & Noble Retail. Much of the public outcry is a resistance to huge national corporations (like Barnes & Noble College) and huge multinational (like Sodexo) running our cherished institutions in the historic downtown. I know President Grigsby says he will hold Barnes & Noble accountable to keep the store historic and will terminate their contract if they fail, but there is no second chance at preserving history. Once our community is disrupted, once most or all of the employees are laid off, there is no reset button. We must act now to save what is exceptional about America’s oldest bookstore. If not Barnes & Noble, then who? Many colleges, including ones in the area such as Kutztown University and Gettysburg College, have independent bookstores. That independence allows these stores to be better for students, employees and the entire campus community. Here is a short article discussing the importance independent college bookstores: http://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2016-08-16/higher_ed_and_the_disappearing_indie_campus_bookstore.html And here is the website of the Independent College Bookstore Association, which lists their many members: http://www.icbainc.com/Store/Default.aspx You might be interested to see the petition, with the signatures of over 13,000 signatures people who are concerned about the purchase and management plans, which you can find here: https://www.change.org/p/moravian-college-save-america-s-oldest-bookstore (please sign and share, if you agree) To summarize, the Moravian College owning the Moravian Book Shop could be a great partnership, but it will not be if the store’s independent operations are not maintained and there is not justice for the dedicated, hard-working employees who are the current stewards of the history and mission of America’s Oldest Bookstore. Thank you for your time. Have a good weekend. Regards, Leo Atkinson Supervisor, Moravian Book Shop leoaatkinson@gmail.com