John Smith voted bookshop of the year 2013
Friday 22 March 2013
John Smith’s, UEL’s Bookshop and student store at our Docklands Campus, has been voted the Bookshop of the Year 2013 by the Academic, Professional & Specialist Booksellers Group. This award was given to the booksellers at the recent annual conference hosted by this industry leading group.
For the second time in three years, the Docklands branch has won this national award, beating off competition from Waterstones and Blackwell’s as well as independent booksellers based in universities across the UK. The John Smith’s shop at our Stratford Campus followed Docklands into third place.
In addition, Gill Isbell, the manager of the Stratford branch, was voted as UK Bookseller of the Year, a category contested by academic bookshop managers from all over the country. Gill is commended for being willing to work with publishers on an “equal basis” and for having an excellent working relationship with lecturers.
John Smith’s also retained its title as Chain Bookseller of the Year – an award it has won in seven of the last eight years.
Joe Dyde, General Manager for John Smith’s at UEL, said;
“The awards we have received this year are, in part, recognition of the fantastic relationship John Smith’s have with the University of East London. Working with UEL on schemes such as Free Books, and the Progress Bursary enables us to grow and develop our relationship with many academics and members of all functions at UEL for the benefit of our students.”
Colin Breen, Director of Sales and Development for John Smith’s, commented;
“UEL is working hard to ensure that its students receive access to educational resource that support their studies and enhance their time at UEL. We are delighted to have been a key part of that since 2006. We really enjoy working with UEL, and look forward to continuing to support UEL in their aims for their students in the future.”
Helen Ellis, Associate Director of Facilities Services for UEL, added;
“All the managers and staff at John Smith’s are extremely customer focussed and take personal responsibility to ensure our students have the best possible experience in all their interactions with the Bookshops. They work in partnership with the academic and services staff and never fail to rise to the challenge to support and deliver new University initiatives. It is a pleasure working with them.”
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