The heart in the middle of academia: Interview with Óttarr Proppé about the University Bookstore

Translation: Victoria Bakshina

Photo: Sædís Harpa Stefánsdóttir

The story of the University Bookstore began in a cubbyhole in the basement of the Main Building. It has been operating for over 50 years. The University Bookstore remained in the Stapi building for a long time but moved to the University Square once it was opened at the end of 2007. The Student Paper spoke with Óttarr Proppé, the store manager, about the history of the University Bookstore and its uniqueness. “When Háskólatorg opened, it somehow simultaneously became the heart in the middle of academia and a part of the university culture”, says Óttarr when asked about the current location of the University Bookstore. The University Square has created a middle ground that connects all the university buildings and disciplines. “The University Bookstore takes being part of this heart  very seriously, and is not just a shop with essentials, though those are stocked too.“ Óttarr says they experienced a great loss when the COVID-19-pandemic began and the campus was closed. “Then we just stared into the void.“

The largest retailer in Iceland when it comes to earplugs

At the University Bookstore, one can find not only books and stationery essentials but also a great variety of products, including sanitary products, toothbrushes, earplugs and hooks to hang photos at the student dorms. Academia, as Óttarr notes, encompasses much more than just studying. The University has spread its influence quite far, so the services of the University Bookstore must reach far beyond that. “It's always surprising to me how one can meet people from many different niches at the University Square.” The services of the University Bookstore can be pretty diverse, and it is often surprising which products are sold the most. “I don't know whether it is true or not, but I heard a rumour somewhere that the University Bookstore is one of the largest retailers in Iceland when it comes to earplugs," says Óttarr.

From the minister of health to the bookseller

Óttarr Proppé began working as a bookseller at the publishing house Almenna bókafélagið when he was a teen and worked as a bookseller for twenty years, the longest at the bookstore Mál og menning before he turned to politics and served, among other things, as the minister of health. He unexpectedly came back into the book business when he started working at the University Bookstore in 2018, and the thought of participating in the university community in this way fascinated him.

I asked Óttarr what the best thing in a bookseller’s job is and he replied that “Books are living things. There are always new books coming and new "trends", and no two days are alike. So, one can just say that books attract fun and interesting people.” I ask Óttarr about this in more detail. “Yes, there was one bookseller I heard one time put it this way: the book store was usually the place where one met fun people. Few assholes. “

Occasionally, unexpected incidents happen at the University Bookstore, like when it was closed due to COVID-19 or when the flood occurred last winter. “When we thought that COVID-19 was finally over, the flood happened. We got a phone call in the middle of the night and expected all the books to be wet and damaged, but we got off lighter than we anticipated.” No serious damage occurred at the University Bookstore during the flood, they had some waterlogging in the warehouse, but it didn't cause a lot of damage. “However, we were a bit worried because water and books are two things that don’t go very well together.” Sometimes they also get unexpected queries that they need to respond to. ”One never knows what unexpected query one will get. But we always do our best to solve them, and we also enjoy when queries are a bit complex and difficult. “

Photo: Sædís Harpa Stefánsdóttir

Always with their antennae out

I ask Óttarr how they select the books that are not study or scientific materials.“It would not surprise me if around 50% of the titles in the shop were books that are not related to certain courses. We have very experienced purchasing officers; some have been here for decades and are closely connected with the publishers. So, we always have our antennae out and try to observe what is discussed and what people could be interested in. But this is always a little experimental.“ They try to provide services for the university community, both students and teachers, and other employees of the university to the best of their ability. To some extent, they are also a community bookstore for the university campus and Vesturbær district. “There are, of course, thousands who live here and the campus itself is like a medium-sized village.“ The University Bookstore is in a way a distributor store for the University Press. “We try to always have the books published by the University of Iceland Press, even though these are older books.“ The sales sometimes seem surprising. “Our bestsellers may seem a bit bizarre sometimes but sell much better than bestsellers in other bookstores.”

What makes a bookstore good?

In 2019 the University Bookstore was declared the best bookstore of Reykjavik by Reykjavik Grapevine. I ask Óttarr what makes a bookstore good in his opinion. “I'm of the opinion that a bookstore is not just a store with products, however, it needs of course to have the right books and plenty of them. It should be able to process them, but it is also a place where people feel good.“ Bókakaffið, a coffee shop located in the University Bookstore, serves its purpose, and many regulars come there every day to get a cup of coffee. What makes a bookstore pleasant is that there are always new books coming and new exciting titles. “For me, a good bookstore is clearly a bookstore where one can come every day or every week and experience something new every time.”

A seller, psychologist, and astrologer at the same time

Now Christmas is rapidly approaching, and the Book Flood has already begun. “We try to get most of the books published for Christmas, but because we’re a student bookstore, we have a lower sales margin than others, so we offer an extremely competitive price. We also offer to wrap and are always there to assist people in choosing Christmas gifts. ”The bestseller list here for Christmas is often the opposite of the general bestseller list. “There’s some fun in it. Books that are related to university studies and literature are selling well, and therefore, place high on the bestseller list. In the last few years, there has been a real explosion in poetry books and short stories’ sales. It says a lot about a certain "trend" among younger readers and university students. We try, of course, to respond to this as well as possible and there are always new collections of poetry. We have a lot of fun participating in the eccentricities of our clients.”

Óttarr says that the Christmas Book Flood is unique. “There are very few communities where books and literature become a public interest in the whole society for two months. And it’s surely a dream come true for a bookseller to be in that environment.“  It can be a challenge to find the right Christmas book for clients. “What I enjoy the most in working at the bookstore is that each book is so personal. It is never just a product, or pages with a lot of information because the reader always adds his imagination and experiences to it. Thus, it becomes a part of him. So, the book always hits differently when you reread it. It changes with every reader.“ It is therefore important that the prospective reader has a book in hand that suits them. “Often a bookseller is sort of a combination of a seller, psychologist and astrologer, they try to draw a picture of a customer and imagine what the person would want to read.”