My Biz: Bookstore manager is a mainstay of Mount Mercy’s campus

Janie Mills was working as a greeting card representative when she decided to pursue a job at the Mount Mercy bookstore, because she liked the college atmosphere.

In 1999, she landed a part-time position there. When the store's longtime manager moved away in 2000, Mills stepped into the full-time role, which she says really doesn't have a downside.

'I just love it here. I like the students and I like hearing their stories,' she said, smiling. 'I've got the gift of gab. I want to know about them and what they're going to do with their lives after college. We care about them.'

Mills and Assistant Manager Teresa Wery are responsible for the purchase and placement of every pencil, pen, book, notebook and sweat shirt on the shelves of the small campus store.

'The work is cyclical,' Mills said. 'Especially during the rush periods like Rush Week, which gets crazy with lots of hours, but then it slows down for a few weeks before it revs back up again.'

Books need to be on the shelves before classes start, so Mills is constantly planning, searching and buying them well ahead of schedule.

'We start out with fall semester, then winter term, then spring term. We have two sessions of summer school on top of nine blocks that run through the year, and those are five- and 10-week sessions,' she said.

'After I get done buying for fall semester, we start in on Block 2, 3 and 4 needs.' By the middle of this month, she will be buying books for the spring 2016 session.

Book returns are another huge task in the bookstore.

'We only have x-amount of time to return unused books, so we have to get all the boxing, packing and shipping done before the new books arrive for the upcoming semester,' she said.

Mills credits her assistant manager for such a task.

'Teresa does all the boxing and wrapping, and these are 50-, 60-, 75-pound boxes of books,' she said.

Since the University has a J-term that starts right after Christmas break, there is little slack time.

'Since we are on a J-term, unlike the bigger universities, our books have to be on the shelves before we leave for Christmas break, and with buyback going on at the end of the fall semester, and then finals, well, it is a big rush,' she said.

Mills said if there is a 'hard part' to the job, it's selling 'expensive books' to students.

'It can be hard to see how the huge book bills affect them and their finances, but Teresa and I are both empathetic. We listen to them, and help them remember the books are a part of the cost of their education,' she said.

l Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com

At a glance

• Manager: Janie Mills

• Business: Campus Bookstore/Mount Mercy University

• Phone: (319) 368-6461

• Website: www.mtmercy.edu