A new mural featuring familiar and historic UD scenes and symbols, as well as portraits of some of the University's most generous friends, makes the UD Bookstore a must-see stop.

Created by Keith Heckert, an art director in UD's Office of Public Relations, the mural is 27 feet wide and 7 feet high. It spans two walls of the stairway connecting the upper and lower levels of the UD Bookstore in the Perkins Student Center.

Among the 40-plus display items featured in the colorful collage are images of campus buildings, such as Memorial Hall and Mitchell Hall, familiar to generations of UD alumni, as well as newer structures like Alfred Lerner Hall, home of the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.

Images of UD benefactors Amy E. du Pont and Pierre Samuel du Pont also are featured. The mural is flanked by images of some of the more than 100 students, many in native dress, bearing state and international flags as part of the September 2002 rededication ceremony for P.S. du Pont Hall, named in honor of one of UD's most generous benefactors.

Also included are classroom scenes and sports images--both old and new--that highlight the rich academic and athletic heritage of UD.

"We wanted to represent the diversity of UD through the history of UD," Heckert said. "We also wanted to focus on books, with images of students studying and scenes from the interior of Morris Library. Our goal was to balance the sports heritage and spirit of UD along with its tradition of academic excellence."

Bookstore general manager Cosmo Olivieri said that when Barnes and Noble was approached about taking over UD bookstore operations, an architect from the company visited the store in the Perkins Student Center. "He felt that some kind of mural would enhance the image of the University Bookstore," Olivieri said.

Olivieri also said bookstore patrons who have seen it spend a lot of time trying to figure out the names of the persons or buildings featured in the display.

"I think it is absolutely beautiful, Olivieri said. "Each day you notice something different about it."

The theme of books and reading also is the subject of another pubic relations project that wraps the sides and back of one of the buses that shuttle students back and forth on campus. A number of members of the UD community, including Olivieri, are featured in the design, also by Heckert.

Olivieri said all these efforts--the mural, bus display and new signs that can be seen at the bookstore entrance and throughout the Academy Street facility--are designed to reinforce the idea that the bookstore is UD's official full-service bookstore.

A new bookstore web site was created over the summer at [www.udel.edu/bookstore], including an on-line textbook ordering option. Students whose courses have been approved can see what books are required and choose whether to pick the books up at the bookstore or have them delivered to their home.

"Students will get a pop-up message, telling them to go to the site," Olivieri said. "They can select new or used books, depending on availability."

Through its partnership with MBS (Missouri Book Services), the largest book wholesaler in the country, Barnes and Noble offers students access to America's largest used textbook network, Olivieri said.

"We try to get as many used books as we can," Olivieri said. "We would like to see students save as much money as they can."

Although the UD Bookstore primarily serves the textbook needs of its student and faculty clients, the general book section on the upper level offers readers many fiction, nonfiction and reference titles. Because the UD Bookstore is a Barnes and Noble "Book Master Store," customers can tap the store's 16,000 title inventory, as well as have access to several million titles online.

Also available are many student-related items, including notebooks, pens, pencils and snacks to feed those all-night study and paper-writing sessions.

The most popular nontextbook items among parents, staff and alumni, Olivieri said, are UD sportswear items, including clothing and accessories featuring the Blue Hen mascot, YoUDee, and the popular UD logo.

"We want to get the word out that we are the official UD bookstore, and that we are a full-service operation," Olivieri said. "We have everything our customers need. We are a one-stop shopping experience."

Other bookstore locations include the YoUDee Shop in the Trabant University Center, featuring art supplies, clothing, merchandise and general supplies, and Hen Essentials, located in the Fred Rust Ice Arena, which offers ice hockey and figure skating-related clothing and merchandise.

For more information on UD Bookstore operations, call (302) 831-3090 or visit [www.udel.edu/ bookstore/].

--Jerry Rhodes