The Spaces & Places guided walking tour explores the history of locations on and around the UTSC campus by sharing the personal recollections of members of our campus community — reflecting a variety of perspectives, positions, and points in time.
The UTSC Bookstore is a crucial resource for all UTSC students, as this is the place from which they can purchase all their course materials, from books to lab coats and everything in between. The space constantly exudes an almost frantic energy: its tall bookshelves are seemingly always surrounded by hordes of antsy students who, with their arms full of school supplies, all but overwhelm the wary cashiers on their way out. In the rare moments when it’s less busy, though, one can take their time to browse through their various literary offerings and university-branded merch, perhaps picking out something special from their wide selection of products. After all, whose parents wouldn’t like a “UTSC Mom” or “UTSC Dad” mug? Indeed, cringy though it may seem, this is a place where one can find items that make clear that which we all feel quietly: that sense of belonging that bands us all together under a common community identity, different as we are.
Will Kwan, a UTSC alum who currently works as an Associate Professor in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Media, shares memories of his time working as an undergraduate student in the early 2000s in the Fine Arts Studio, which was once housed in the space currently occupied by the UTSC Bookstore in the Bladen Wing.
Credits:Conceived and produced by Christine Berkowitz. All images courtesy of the UTSC Memory Collection and the UTSC Commons Magazine.
Story 2
The Portable Bookstore
Mary Ann Vernon, a Scarborough College alum who now works as the user services team lead in the UTSC Library, recalls the state of the UTSC bookstore during her early days on campus in the 1970s.