The Top College Bookstore in Carbondale is 710 Bookstore

Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University and as such has three book stores for college students to purchase their textbooks, 710 Bookstore, the Saluki Bookstore and the University Bookstore, owned by Follet’s. 

Each of the stores has its own appeal, but the best college bookstore in Carbondale is the locally-owned one, 710. The store ahs an extensive selections of things other than just textbooks that students might need in the course of the year, including more art supplies than the average hobby store, a complete line of office products, and, of course, licensed SIU apparel. The owners of 710 weren’t particularly creative when choosing the store’s name. The name comes directly from the address, 710 South Illinois Avenue. Illinois Avenue and University Avenue are the two names for the north and south sections of U.S. Highway 51 which run through the center of Carbondale and directly in front of Southern Illinois University. 

You’d think, because Follet’s rents space in the Student Center and is therefore directly affiliated with the university that it would have the best relationship with the faculty, but that just isn’t the case. 

710 Bookstore has been part of the Carbondale community for years and many of the faculty have become accustomed to dealing with their staff. That means if the three bookstores don’t agree on the materials needed for a class, the one most likely to get it right is 710. 

This fall, the Saluki Bookstore and University Bookstore did not even have the compact disk I needed for one of my classes. Staff at the University Bookstore said their shipment was simply late and they would have them soon. I needed it the next day. The Saluki Bookstore placed the blame on the professor, saying that they had ordered the book for the class, not the CD for on-line access to the class notes.